What Actually Happens After You Set a Goal?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila is joined by three Goal Sprint participants, Hannah Isted, Jen Vaughan and Darren Scotland, for an honest progress check-in just weeks into the year.

Together they explore:

• Why momentum matters more than motivation

• How perfectionismblocks progress (and how to move anyway)

• The psychology of getting out of your comfort zone from running faster to showing up online

• Why community support accelerates confidence and behaviour change

• How small actions create belief, not the other way around

• Letting go of “gatekeepers” and reframing rejection

• Using goals as direction, not pressure

You’ll hear:

Hannah share how pushing past “safe effort” transformed her running

Jen open up about visibility fears, tech discomfort, and building connection in business from the ground up.

Darren reflect on perfectionism, creative momentum, community collaboration and turning setbacks into progress.

Leila weaves in psychological insights around effort, behaviour change, self-criticism, resource conservation, social comparison and why progress rarely looks linear.

If you’ve ever:

• Set a goal and felt stuck straight after

• Waited to feel confident before acting

• Struggled with perfectionism or fear of visibility

• Wondered why progress feels slower than expected

This episode will help you understand what’s really happening in your brain and how to work with it rather than against it.