Grow the Good
Grow the Good
Sonya Looney
Grow the Good, formerly The Sonya Looney Show, is your guide to continual personal growth, meaningful connections, and positive impact in the world. Challenge the idea that you are broken or need fixing. Instead, discover how to cultivate the good that already exists within you and amplify the strengths and potential you may not yet realize you have. Grounded in the science of positive psychology and guided by the pillars of purpose, vitality, resilience, hope, and connection, each episode is packed with tools, stories, and evidence-backed insights to help you create a more authentic and flourishing life.
The Urgency Trap
In this solo episode, I’m talking about patience, and really, about rushing. Rather than focus on time management conversation, I'm taking a look at what happens in our bodies and nervous systems when we move through life with constant urgency, and how impatience can show us where we feel out of control, overstimulated, or overly attached to productivity. I share what I’ve been noticing in my own life, from parenting and waiting in lines to endurance racing, phones, AI, and the scratchy feeli...
Jul 9
29 min
Hope Is the Strategy: Burnout, Mattering, and Meaningful Work with Jen Fisher
In this episode, I sit down with workplace well-being expert and author Jen Fisher to talk about her book, Hope Is the Strategy, and why hope matters so much in a world where so many people are burned out, languishing, and struggling to feel like they matter. Jen shares her own story of severe burnout and how achievement-based identity, constant performance pressure, and external definitions of success can slowly disconnect us from our well-being. This conversation felt especially meaningful ...
Jul 2
55 min
Mindfulness in Action: Letting Yourself Feel Valued
In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m exploring what it means to not only add value, but to let ourselves feel valued. So many of us are working hard to matter. We’re trying to contribute, perform, improve, achieve, help, and show up for other people. But even when we are adding value, we may not actually let the feeling of mattering land. We move so quickly that we miss the evidence that we are seen, appreciated, and needed. This episode is deeply personal for me. I share a reflection o...
Jun 18
22 min
What It Really Means to Matter
What does it actually mean to matter? In this solo episode, I’m diving into a topic that has been occupying my mind for years and has become a central part of my research, workshops, and the book I’m writing: mattering. Mattering is more than belonging. It’s more than self-esteem. It’s the lived experience of both adding value and feeling valued — to yourself, in your relationships, at work, and in your broader community. And when one of those pieces is missing, achievement can start to feel ...
Jun 12
29 min
How to Build a Life of Contribution with Tom Rath
What if the real value of achievement isn’t what it proves about us, but how it contributes to others? In this episode, I sit down with bestselling author, researcher, and publisher Tom Rath. Tom is known for books like How Full Is Your Bucket?, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Strengths-Based Leadership, and Eat, Move, Sleep. His work has shaped how millions of people think about strengths, well-being, purpose, and the way we spend our days. We talk about the difference between purpose and passion, why ...
Jun 4
1 hr
Mindfulness in Action: Practicing Mental Agility in Real Time
This Mindfulness in Action episode is a real-time practice in mental agility: the ability to notice what’s happening in your thoughts, emotions, and body, and make small adjustments that help you stay aligned with what matters. In the previous solo episode, I talked about mental agility from a more practical and educational lens: emotional agility, attentional agility, mindfulness, and the internal and external shifters that help us regulate and adapt. In this episode, we take those ideas out...
May 21
29 min
Mental Agility: How to Work With Your Emotions, Attention, and Inner Chatter
What does it really mean to be mentally agile? In this solo episode, I’m talking about the emotional and attentional skills that help us notice what’s happening inside of us, create space, and choose our next move with more intention. Mental agility is the ability to shift, adapt, and stay connected to what matters, especially when things don’t go the way we planned. Today, I’lm talking about emotional agility, mindfulness, emotional granularity, and the internal and external “shifters” that ...
May 14
38 min
Rethinking Goals, Striving, and Self-Worth with Jeff Warren and Tasha Schumann
What if so much of our suffering comes from trying to become who we think we’re supposed to be? In this episode, I sit down with meditation teachers Jeff Warren and Tasha Schumann for a wide-ranging, deeply practical conversation about mindfulness, creativity, neurodiversity, and how to let go of the societal “shoulds” that keep us disconnected from ourselves. This conversation felt especially personal to me because so much of it mirrors what I’ve been exploring in my own life as an athlete, ...
May 7
55 min
Mindfulness in Action: Letting Go of “Should”
In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m talking about one of the sneakiest forms of distorted thinking: shoulds. You know the ones: I should be doing more. I should have this figured out by now. I should be more disciplined, more patient, more productive. These thoughts can sound helpful on the surface, but often they leave us feeling ashamed, guilty, disconnected, and never quite enough. In this episode, I break down three common types of “shoulds”: the outward-facing shoulds tied t...
Apr 23
24 min
Decision Fatigue, Perfectionism, and the Problem With “Should”
Ever catch yourself thinking, “I should be better than this. I should be doing more. I should have started earlier” and then spiraling? In this solo episode, I’m diving into the world of "should" and how it quietly drives guilt, shame, and burnout, especially for high performers and ambitious, growth-oriented people. Recently, I injured my rib at my son’s ninja gym birthday party and being forced to pull back on training actually gave me surprising mental relief. So today, I explore why havin...
Apr 16
34 min
Load more