Why Love Gets Uncomfortable & How That’s Not a Failure | Susan Piver [Best Of]
Good Life Project
Jonathan Fields / Acast
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The deeper the love, the more uncomfortable it gets, and learning how to work with that truth may change the way you relate forever.
If you’ve ever wondered why love sometimes feels harder over time, why irritation replaces ease, or why closeness can feel strangely destabilizing, this conversation offers a grounded and deeply wise and kind perspective. Rather than trying to fix or escape discomfort, you’ll learn how meeting it together can actually deepen intimacy and connection.
In this Best of episode, Jonathan sits down with writer and meditation teacher Susan Piver, New York Times bestselling author of The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships. Susan has studied Buddhism for more than 30 years and founded The Open Heart Project, an online dharma community with nearly 20,000 members.
In this conversation, you’ll discover:
- A simple reframe that explains why love feels hardest with the people we care about most
- How discomfort can become a doorway to deeper intimacy rather than a sign that something’s wrong
- The subtle way self-criticism quietly shapes how we treat our partners
- A powerful alternative to blame that changes how conflict unfolds
- Why intimacy can deepen even when romance naturally fades
Love isn’t meant to be comfortable or predictable. It’s meant to be alive. Press play to learn how to stay open, connected, and compassionate when relationships feel hardest.
You can find Susan Piver at: Website | Instagram | Episode Transcript
Next week, be sure to tune in for my conversation with Lisa Mosconi about women’s brain health, menopause, and what it all means for long-term cognitive wellbeing.
Check out our offerings & partners:
- Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel
- Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | So love has a way of humbling us, especially the longer we're in it. |
| 0:05.0 | What once felt effortless, it can start to feel uncomfortable, confusing, even painful. |
| 0:09.9 | And when that happens, a lot of us just assume that, you know, something's gone wrong. |
| 0:14.8 | But what if that discomfort isn't love walking out the door or even failure in any way? |
| 0:20.4 | What if it's actually pointing us towards deeper intimacy, deeper love? |
| 0:24.9 | Today I'm sharing a powerful conversation with Susan Piver. |
| 0:27.7 | Susan is a longtime Buddhist practitioner, meditation teacher, |
| 0:30.7 | and the author of The Four Noble Truths of Love. |
| 0:33.4 | She's also a dear friend and someone I turn to for guidance, |
| 0:36.5 | really about anything involving |
| 0:37.8 | the heart. And what she offers here, it's both deeply wise and radically practical. We explore |
| 0:43.4 | why relationships never really stabilize, even decades into them, and how that's actually okay, |
| 0:49.1 | why closeness can actually amplify irritation and what to do about it and how the way we treat ourselves |
| 0:56.3 | individually quietly shapes how we show up with the people that we love the most. And Susan also |
| 1:01.6 | introduces a really refreshing alternative to blame and explains how meeting discomfort together |
| 1:07.4 | can strengthen connection over time. This isn't about fixing your partner or yourself. |
| 1:12.6 | It's about learning how to stay open and kind and present when love feels hardest. So excited to |
| 1:19.4 | share this best of conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is Good Life Project. |
| 1:28.8 | One of the things that I've always loved about our conversations and about the stuff |
| 1:32.6 | that you create is you tow this really interesting line between deep wisdom, deep ancient |
| 1:38.6 | traditional wisdom, and practical on the ground. |
| 1:43.8 | Okay, so how does this work if you don't want to live in a monastery? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jonathan Fields / Acast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jonathan Fields / Acast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.