Rejecting The Path Of Least Resistance and Refusing To Be A Passenger With Tyler Adams

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“ True social justice is possible when we remember what it means to be human in all of its messiness, when that messiness includes looking in the mirror at all the ways we’ve been complicit in forgetting our humanity, that we need to grieve and mourn what has been done to others from which we have benefited, and that we then draw the line and say, “I know that there are unconscious ways I will continue to be complicit, but at the very least, I am surrendering to the fact that I am complicit, that I am strong enough to accept the responsibility and accountability that comes along with that, and to jump into the ditch and start digging right alongside everyone else that figured that out before I did, without it shaming me into “why didn’t I get here sooner,” and inviting that shame, guilt, and complicity along for the ride, and refusing to be a passenger any longer.”

–Tyler Adams

Tyler Adams of the GoodPain Podcast opens up about how a life-altering event involving his youngest daughter cracked his heart open and expanded his understanding of privilege, complicity with oppressive systems, and what it really means to live in alignment with his values, including using storytelling to make heart-to-heart connections that create lasting change.

He shares his experiences with the complexities of navigating loss, confronting privilege, subverting the status quo, and the power of staying connected to our humanity.

Tyler encourages listeners to resist the “path of least resistance,” refuse to be passive participants, and to remember the importance of collective action and accountability on the journey toward justice.

This Personal Journeys segment includes:

• What draws us towards the path of least resistance: how easy it is to align with patterns of comfort and convenience, and why choosing the uncomfortable road leads to growth and authentic human connection.
• Staying in touch with your humanity: the importance of allowing yourself to feel, connect, and refuse to become numb to the hard sides of life.
• Active vs passive participation in social change work: the idea of refusing to be a passenger in life and in social justice work. The importance of owning your complicity and contradictions, taking accountability, and choosing something different.
• Privilege and community support: thoughts on how privilege often means moving through open doors without asking who built them, and the responsibility that comes once awareness sets in.
• The transformational power of storytelling: telling your story and listening to others’ stories can become a catalyst for connection, empathy, and action.

Meet Tyler

Tyler Adams co-hosts Goodpain Podcast. He and his co-host are launching their third season not as spectators to the question of art and making, but as fellow humans still inside it.

Goodpain spent its first two seasons on loss and masculinity. Season 3 turns to art and making, which Tyler finds harder to summarize and easier to feel. By training, he is a counselor and executive coach, doctoral student, and media executive. By habit, he is a woodworker, photographer, and writer.

He does not think those are separate, and Season 3 is the conversation that puts that suspicion to the test. The show earned a 5-star rating and a spot in the 2026 AIR AMPLIFY cohort.

He grew up with a door wide open; anything he wanted to make, he could try. His daughter’s injury changed that. Words that had been craft became necessity. That gap – between a life without resistance and a life built inside it – is what brought him to Season 3. He comes to witness, not lead.

Stay connected with Tyler and GoodPain by visiting the website at goodpainco.com.

Listen to Relando’s Episode

I had the opportunity to be a guest on Tyler’s podcast. Listen to the full episode: This Just Ain’t Working for Us – Relando Thompkins-Jones, Social Justice Origin Stories.

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Social Justice Origin Stories is produced, edited, and hosted by Relando Thompkins-Jones