The mindset that helps you survive hard things can also be the mindset that slowly breaks you. Erin sits down with Ben Williams, former Royal Marine commando, author, and startup founder, to talk about the moment grit stops feeling like strength and starts feeling like a mask you cannot keep wearing. Ben shares what it looked like when achievement kept moving the goalposts, stress piled up, and disconnection turned into burnout, depression, and a brutally honest rebuild.

We get practical and reflective about the liminal space, that in-between stretch where you are no longer who you were, but not yet who you are becoming. Ben explains why modern life pushes us to rush from A to B, and how that urgency shows up in careers, fitness, relationships, and even the way we cope. We also unpack suffering versus struggle, fixed mindset versus growth mindset, and the subtle inner narratives that turn everyday pressure into something personal and crushing.

From jiu-jitsu as a humility practice to therapy as a place to take the load off, Ben offers a powerful image you will remember: putting the rock down and sitting next to it. He also speaks about building healthier veteran pathways into startups through FirstFound, and why rejecting hustle culture is part of sustainable high performance. If you are navigating transition, leadership pressure, or mental health challenges, this conversation gives you language, perspective, and permission to be human. Subscribe, share this with someone in a liminal season, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.

Help us improve! I'd love to get your feedback...

Forging Resilience supports Save A Warrior

Save A Warrior works with veterans and first responders facing complex PTSD and the reality of suicide.

Through this podcast, we’re supporting their work.

If you want to get behind it, you can do that by buying a bag of  Major Stoke Blend coffee.
All profits go directly to Save A Warrior.

Good coffee. Real conversations. Work that matters.

Support the show

Follow my social media accounts | LinkedIn | Instagram |