On Episode 41 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships.

Her extensive clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several widely used assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT), applied with both adults and adolescents.

In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores how reframing our relationship with stress can transform our quality of life, presence, and performance. If you’ve ever wanted to transform the way you think about stress—and learn how to make it work for you instead of against you—this episode is a must-listen.

She explains that “we’re all going to experience stress in our lives, but when we shift our mindset about it, our entire experience changes. Stress isn’t just one thing—it’s how we perceive it. If we see it as exciting and challenging, our bodies respond very differently than if we see it as overwhelming or life-threatening.”

Dr. Firestone challenges the common misconception that mindset work is simply about “thinking positively.” She notes that “mindset isn’t about tricking ourselves into thinking positively—it’s about changing how our nervous system responds. If you interpret a situation as dangerous, your body goes into fight-or-flight or even shutdown mode. But if you see it as a challenge, you can overcome it. It can be motivating, energizing, and even improve your performance.”

One of her favorite techniques for reframing stress is surprisingly simple. “Replacing the word ‘stress’ with ‘challenge’ can be powerful. A challenge is something you can choose to take on, approach with curiosity, and even decide to walk away from. That simple reframe reminds us that we have agency, and that we can choose how we respond.”

She also shares practical wisdom for building resilience over time. “We can train ourselves to respond differently to stress. That means growing our ability to handle it with self-compassion, preparing where we can, and letting go of what we can’t control. The more flexible and adaptable we are, the more we expand our boundaries—and the better we perform in all areas of life.”

You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode 40 of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships.

Her extensive clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT), which are used with both adults and adolescents.

In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores the impact of attachment styles on leadership and working relationships. She outlines the characteristics of each attachment style and offers tools for managing and understanding our own patterns. She also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, mindfulness, and compassion in the process of personal and professional growth.

Dr. Firestone explains, “We didn’t develop [our attachment style] as a choice. What we did was make the best adaptation we could to what was there, and that happened as our nervous system was still forming. So it is in our brain, it’s in our bones—it’s part of us. But we need to be kind to ourselves about it. We came by it honestly. We might even disapprove of a behavior, like being too harsh on people, but beating ourselves up doesn’t help. It really helps to have what a dear friend and colleague of mine calls a ‘COAL’ attitude—Curious, Open, Accepting, and Loving. That’s what people might call self-compassion.”

Dr. Firestone adds, “We all get triggered at times. It doesn’t matter what type of attachment we have—even if it’s secure. Something can bring up a feeling that dysregulates us. But the healthier our attachment is, the more we can say, ‘Oh, okay—I got dysregulated,’ and then do something to regulate ourselves and repair.”

On healing and transformation, she shares, “Everything in life will go better if you start to resolve some of that unresolved trauma. People want a quick fix or a way around it, but we really have to walk through it. And I think that’s true for all of us. Again—with a kind attitude. This didn’t happen for no reason. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It means you had a rough beginning.”

You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-nine of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Aleca Hughes McPherson, Head of Portfolio and Platform at Highland. Aleca brings deep experience in strategy, operations, and leadership—supporting founders and scaling early-stage companies. She began her career at Catalant Technologies, rising from sales to a key role in strategic operations. A former captain of Yale’s Women’s Ice Hockey team, Aleca also founded the Mandy Schwartz Foundation, honoring her late teammate, and serves on the board of the Hockey Humanitarian Award—an honor she once received. In this episode, we dive into how Aleca helps build strong leaders, winning teams, and healthy, high-growth companies.

In our interview, Aleca shares the impact of sport on her career today. “Through sport, my parents taught us so many foundational life lessons. It’s such a big part of who I am—and who my brothers are. I imagine it’s the same for you with water polo. Within 10 seconds of being on the field, the ice, or in the pool, you know who someone is. Do they pass the puck? Do they backcheck? Are they excited when their teammate scores? I learned those lessons playing pickup hockey with my brothers, often with a bit of a chip on my shoulder—no one passed me the puck, so I had to go get it and make a name for myself. That mindset really propelled me forward.”

Aleca explains what Highland looks for in a founder. “At Highland, when we’re evaluating a founder, I think about how I show up to those conversations and what we’re really looking for. One of the key things we look for is strong founder–market fit. You often hear about product–market fit, which is of course important. But for us, founder–market fit is equally critical. Who is this individual? Why are they pursuing this particular problem or opportunity? What makes them so deeply passionate about it that they’re willing to go all in?”

Aleca shares one of Highland’s most frequently asked questions when evaluating a founder. “One of the first questions we ask ourselves when evaluating an opportunity is: Is this a founder I would work for? It’s really a question of ‘work with’ or ‘work for.’ Like—would you leave your current role to go work for this founder? I ask myself that, and so do our general partners, some of whom have been in the business for 25 or 30 years. We have a concentrated portfolio and make a very limited number of investments per fund, so this isn’t just a throwaway question—we take it very seriously.”

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-eight of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Dr. Lisa Firestone — Clinical Psychologist, Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association, and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of numerous articles and book chapters and has written several books with her father, Robert Firestone, including The Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion, and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships.

Her clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence have led to the development of several assessments, including the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts (FAST), the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent (FASI), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) for adults and adolescents.

In this insightful conversation, Dr. Firestone explores how trauma and emotional triggers can show up in the workplace, how to navigate difficult conversations, and how to recover afterward.

Dr. Firestone explains how unresolved trauma often surfaces in unexpected ways, “When we have unresolved trauma — which most of us likely do in one way or another — it tends to get triggered. When you find yourself getting really emotional as an adult about something, almost as if it’s life or death, it’s often a sign of unresolved trauma. In most cases, things in the workplace or daily life are not truly life or death, nor are we in physical danger. But when our emotional response feels that intense and powerful, it’s likely because it’s touching on an unresolved trauma from the past.”

Dr. Firestone reminds us of the personal power we have as adults, "As an adult, you have a level of personal power that you didn’t have as a child — and it’s important to recognize that. You’re no longer that child. It may not be an ideal situation, but you have the power to navigate it as an adult.”

She encourages us to allow difficult emotions to move through us, “If we’re willing to sit with the feeling, it will pass. When we try to avoid the feeling, it tends to get stuck. But if we allow ourselves to feel it and let it move through us, it will eventually pass. While we may not have control over the feeling itself, we can choose to do things that help us get centered again.”

You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Firestone’s work at www.drlisafirestone.com, www.psychalive.org, and www.glendon.org.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-seven of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Marina Mayer, Co-CEO & Founder of SWAY, a firm dedicated to building resilience in organizations with bodies in mind.

With 18 years of experience in multidisciplinary environments, Marina is an Organizational Development and Leadership Psychologist specializing in talent strategy, executive coaching, and scaling cohesive organizations. Her award-winning research, How Movement Moves Us, explores the untapped potential of the body in facilitating the cognitive, emotional, and social processes of leadership and high performance.

When asked why the body plays a critical role in leadership performance, Marina explains, “Before our brain has a chance to form a thought or generate a behavioral response, all input first enters through the body—processed by our sensory perceptions and neurons—traveling up to the brain, where it first reaches the emotional center before moving to the thinking center and finally emerging as behaviors and actions. To create true transformation and meaningful intervention, we can’t separate what is inherently connected.”

She further addresses the interconnection between the body, mind, and performance, “But by only talking about bodies in the space of wellness, we’re essentially saying, ‘Use your brain to perform and your body to unwind.’ And I think that’s false. We can either try to perform by shutting down our bodies and ignoring what they need, or we can recognize our bodies as partners in performance.”

Marina highlights the impact of bodily engagement in daily life, “When we sit at a computer all day without engaging the body, we miss opportunities to enhance our performance, sharpen our cognition, and enhance our connections with others.”

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On episode thirty-six of Mindful Warrior Radio, I host Susan Leger Ferraro, a visionary social entrepreneur and the founder of five multimillion-dollar organizations. Her groundbreaking work is dedicated to transforming workforce education and driving meaningful social impact.

With over 45 years of experience and an unwavering commitment to youth activism, Susan offers invaluable insights into addressing today’s global challenges. Her pioneering ideas continue to inspire innovation, growth, and positive change across industries.

In her latest book, SuperLoop, Susan presents a transformative roadmap for revolutionizing work, leadership, and personal growth. By seamlessly integrating self-awareness with organizational success, she equips individuals and teams with actionable tools to thrive.

During the interview, Susan reflects on our collective desire to make an impact. She says, “I believe there is a deep yearning within humanity to be fully self-expressed—each and every one of us. And I think that is exactly what the world is being called to embrace right now.”

Explaining the philosophy behind SuperLoop, she elaborates, “Beliefs shape our biology, which in turn influences our behavior, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. If we don’t interrupt this process, it continues endlessly, perpetuating itself.”

Regarding the dynamics of SuperLoop, she adds,“What SuperLoop does is help us recognize that, by default or design, these elements are either happening to us, or we are taking the lead and making them happen. In other words, you’re either actively using your SuperLoop, or it’s using you.”

Susan also addresses the stigma surrounding feedback in organizational settings, “When humans—especially those working in organizations—hear the term ‘feedback,’ they often experience a cortisol rush because we’ve been conditioned to associate it with something negative. While many of us have experienced feedback that elevated us to a new level, the majority of our relationship with feedback is negative. To shift this perspective, we coined a new term: ‘Feedforward.’”

Download a free chapter of SuperLoop at Superloopststems.com.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior or visit www.mindfulwarrior.com.

Maggie Steffens: Captaining Olympic Teams

On episode thirty-five of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maggie Steffens. Maggie is a professional water polo player and four-time Olympian on Team USA. Named to the Women’s National Team at 16, Maggie has continued to represent her country at every major international championship since. At 19, she was a member of the 2012 gold-winning squad at the London Olympics, where she played alongside her older sister, making them a truly dynamic duo! Not only did the Steffens sisters bring home gold, but Maggie tied the Olympic record with 21 goals and earned the title of team MVP.

Four years later, Maggie led Team USA to a second consecutive gold medal as the captain of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo team at the Rio Olympics. In 2019, she made history by leading the team to their first-ever three consecutive FINA World Championship titles. A year later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she helped the team secure yet another gold medal.

Maggie won three National Championships (2014, 2015, and 2017) at Stanford University where she graduated with a degree in science, technology, and society in 2017. She also earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors, and received multiple accolades, including MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Player of the Year.

Maggie continued her studies at Stanford, completing a master’s degree in management, science, and engineering and then went on to play professionally in Budapest and Barcelona before returning to Long Beach, CA in the summer of 2019 to train for her third Olympic games.

On Mindful Warrior Radio, Maggie tells us that the goal of leadership as a team captain is to “trust yourself enough to let go and trust your preparation.” She explains that the advantages of doing so are being able “to be yourself, not only out of the water but also in it, whether it’s taking a risk, going for the shot, or swimming a bit faster when it matters. It’s about building trust in yourself, and in turn, trusting others—your teammates, your coaches, and the shared mission of the team. Reaching that level of trust is hard, but it’s a big part of what allows your light to shine. After all, it’s hard to let that light shine if you don’t have trust in yourself, others, and a common purpose.”

About the leadership challenges of being a team captain, she says, ‘I’m constantly thinking about the team, even as I’m going to bed. Of course, I’m focused on how I can improve, but I also ask, what does the team need? What does each player need? How can I approach each situation? Being captain has really emphasized that responsibility. I’m always thinking about the team; that’s just who I am. And it can be challenging to balance fostering team development and harmony while still putting in the effort to become the person I want to be.”

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

Maude Quinn: An Introduction to Family Constellations Therapy

On episode thirty-four of Mindful Warrior Radio, we welcome Maude Quinn. Maude is a massage therapist, bodyworker, and constellations facilitator. With a background in spiritual care and chaplaincy, Maude integrates theological training from Harvard Divinity School with a range of alternative healing modalities. Her work helps clients integrate the wisdom of the body, mind, and soul to access the wellsprings of belonging in their heart, understand their wholeness, and fulfill their soulful purpose. I am honored and thrilled to tap into the insights of Maude Quinn on today’s episode of Mindful Warrior Radio.

To define systems, Maude shares the following, “One of the most basic ways that I understand a system is as a network of elements connected to one another in a constantly evolving manner. So, systems are dynamic; they're alive. They evolve!"

She introduces Family Constellations therapy as “a modality that helps us map the often unseen, invisible dynamics within a system. Every system has unconscious roles, emotional patterns, and other dynamics that we unknowingly replicate. Constellations enable us to visualize these dynamics clearly and address the issues that hinder our deepest desires, intentions, and goals in life—whether personal or professional. It helps us understand how these blocks or entanglements might trace back to older systemic patterns."

Maude describes how family systems impact our lives and relationships outside of our families. She says, "We carry learned behaviors, beliefs, and patterns from our family system into other systems we belong to—whether partnerships, work, or organizations. Unconsciously, we may recruit others to fill unmet roles or needs from our family system, or we may try to fulfill others' unmet needs, replicating learned behaviors. By becoming aware of these patterns and transforming them, we feel deeply resourced and understand authentically what we have to offer in our world."

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio, please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com