The Responsible Rebel: Risk, Identity and the Freedom to Fail with Rebecca Cracknell

Psychologically Speaking | Hosted by Leila Ainge

What if the biggest risk isn't doing something new, but staying exactly where you are?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, I'm joined by Rebecca Cracknell, an Identity and Impact Coach who helps women question the rules they've inherited about success, ambition and how they're supposed to show up in the world.

Rebecca describes herself as a responsible rebel. Someone who loves challenging expectations and asking 'what if?', but who also...

Lost in Translation? The Psychology of Language, Creativity and Belonging

With Dominique van Werkhoven, co-founder of The Werks

Are we the same person in every language we speak? And what happens when the words we have available don't quite allow us to express who we are?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, I'm joined by Dominique van Werkhoven, copywriter, content strategist and co-founder of The Werks, a digital marketing agency specialising in story-led marketing for cross-cultural brands.

Dominique is a Londoner who has made her home in France, Austria and the...

A glass gold gilded conker from Effie Burns collection is the inspiration for our final reflection room taster session.

We are thinking about what brings out our prickly side, what are we protecting and why?

I also share details of the Reflection Room, starting on 14th September, details here on how to sign up https://www.leilaainge.co.uk/reflectionroom

https://www.effieburnsglass.co.uk

What if a room could become a self-portrait?

This week in the Reflection Room, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge pairs a painting by Lottie Cole with a simple but thought-provoking reflection about identity, environment and the spaces we quietly create around ourselves.

Drawing on psychology, art and everyday observation, this episode invites you to look differently at the rooms you spend time in and to consider what they might reveal about who you are and who you're becoming.

Perfect if you're looking for a few minutes of calm reflection, creative thinking and a...

What happens when you've left one chapter behind but haven't quite arrived at the next?

Inspired by Frances Featherstone's Dower House from her Threshold series, this Reflection Room episode explores the psychology of liminality—the in-between spaces where identity, perspective and possibility begin to shift.

https://www.francesfeatherstone.co.uk/paintings

What stories have you inherited about where you belong? This week's reflection uses art and psychology to help you revise your own narrative.

Join psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge for the first Reflection Room prompt, where psychology, art and curiosity come together to help you see yourself—and your work from a different perspective.

Inspired by Coral Woodbury's Revised Edition series and the work of artist Lubaina Himid, this episode explores how the stories we inherit shape our sense of identity, belonging and possibility. Drawing on ideas from social identity psychology, Leila reflects on why re...

How do we make better decisions when certainty is impossible?

In this solo episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge explores why confidence isn't about having all the answers—it's about asking better questions.

Drawing on psychology, decision-making research and reflections from this season's conversations, Leila explains why our brains crave certainty, how identity and ego can shape the way we respond to new information, and why curiosity is one of the greatest advantages we can develop.

You'll discover:

What if the biggest risk isn't failing—but standing still?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge is joined by entrepreneur, UK Innovator Founder visa holder and CEO of The Doula Hive, Tif Bryant.

Growing up in poverty, becoming a teenage mum and leaving school early weren't the end of Tif's story. After building a successful birth business in the United States, she made the bold decision to sell everything, move her family across the world and start again. Today she's building The Doula Hive a technology platform designed to transform th...

What does it really mean to invest in yourself?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila is joined by marketing strategist and entrepreneur Niki Hutchison, founder of Enjoy Marketing®. With more than 25 years in marketing strategy and two six-figure businesses behind her, Niki helps founder-led businesses become known for what they do best.

Together, they explore the psychology behind investing in yourself, taking business risks and building a business that reflects who you are. They discuss why some investments exceed expectations while others don't, how to think about return on investment beyond money, and why t...

Louise Duncum spent nearly a decade designing for major high street fashion brands before realising she'd become successful at something that no longer felt like her.In this episode we talk about leaving, comparison, taking on debt to grow a business, multiple identities, and why building a business that reflects who you are is riskier, but far more rewarding, than staying where you no longer fit.

https://weizstyles.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/weizstylespersonalstylistlondon/

https://www.instagram.com/weizstyles

What happens when body shame isn't actually about your body? This week I'm joined by coach and facilitator Emma While, who decided to evict what she calls "the patriarchy squatting in my temple" by taking a beginners' burlesque class at 49. We talk about shame, visibility, motherhood, neurodivergence, identity, and why the scariest risks are sometimes the ones that bring us closest to ourselves.

What follows is a conversation about far more than burlesque. We explore shame, motherhood, neurodivergence, identity, imposter experiences and why confidence isn't something you have—it's something you experience. And we ask what becomes po...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila Ainge is joined by strategic advisor and facilitator Rachel Cashman to explore the relationship between imposter phenomenon, risk taking, legitimacy, and trust.

Rachel has worked across government, healthcare, defence, and the life sciences, helping leaders navigate high-stakes conversations, organisational conflict, and complex people dynamics. Together, Leila and Rachel unpack what it means to trust your gut, how women learn to scan for risk, and why imposter experiences may actually sharpen our awareness rather than diminish our capability.

The conversation explores:

Why do some things feel emotionally bigger than they “should”?

In this bonus episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge introduces The Hard Thing Challenge — a free five-day reflection challenge exploring the psychology behind difficult tasks, imposter feelings, avoidance, identity, and risk.

This episode also introduces the next season of Psychologically Speaking.

You’ll also get:

– details of Leila's free 5 day challenge.

– an introduction to The Reflection Room

– details on how the challenge works

– and a preview of the new podcast season exploring imposter phenome...

What happens when loss changes everything—not just emotionally, but structurally?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila Ainge is joined by wellbeing consultant and psychotherapist Chrissy Orson to explore grief, identity shifts, and the moment your life no longer fits the way it used to.

After losing both her sister and father within weeks during lockdown, Chrissy shares how grief didn’t just affect her personally—it completely changed how she saw work, time, family, and what actually matters.

We talk about the psychology of grief, why many women “keep going” until they hit a...

What happens when your life doesn’t follow the path you thought it would?

A conversation on identity, belonging, and the courage to build a career that doesn’t look right on paper but feels right in your life.

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, I’m joined by coach and podcast host Fiorenza Rossini to explore identity, belonging, and the unexpected turns our careers can take. From financial engineering to full-time coaching, Fiorenza shares what it means to step away from “safe” career paths and build a life that aligns with your values.

We talk...

We often assume interviews are a way of capturing what people already think. But qualitative psychology suggests something different. Interviews can be active sites of meaning-making, where thoughts are not just shared, but formed in real time.

Drawing on ideas like the double hermeneutic from Anthony Giddens and reflexive approaches to qualitative research, I reflect on what it means to ask questions that might shift how someone understands their own experience.

As an insider researcher studying online communities I belong to, this raises a deeper question: what trace does research leave behind?

This...

“I refuse to hate myself in any way… I hope women reclaim ageing as a gift.”

When everything shifts at once, home, body, identity, what does it take to rebuild a sense of safety and self? Leila Ainge and Emma Seville explore menopause, midlife transitions, and the psychology of starting over.

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist Leila Ainge speaks with menopause coach Emma Seville about navigating unexpected life changes, financial precarity, ADHD, and the psychological impact of midlife transitions. Together, they explore agency, belonging, and how women can reclaim ageing as a powerful, identi...

Hi, I’m Leila, and I’m currently doing a PhD exploring the experiences of women who are independent workers, including entrepreneurs, freelancers, and the self-employed, who use online communities as part of their working lives.

My first study is collecting data through a series of interviews with women and community hosts across two online communities where I’m also a paying member. These are spaces I didn’t join as a researcher, but as someone looking for connection, support, and belonging in independent work.

Alongside the research itself, I’ll be keeping a series of blog po...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila Ainge speaks with entrepreneur Femke Harris about the unexpected twists that shape our lives. From growing up as a third-culture kid in Hong Kong to managing operations on a NATO base in Afghanistan, Femke’s career path has been anything but predictable.

Together they explore the psychology of resilience, identity and adaptation when life doesn’t follow the plan we imagined. Femke shares how major life transitions – moving countries, career pivots, motherhood and COVID-era uncertainty – ultimately led her to create the Merry-go-round Club, a sustainable baby equipment rental service designed to suppo...

What if one of the most powerful mental health tools was already in your garden?

In this episode, I’m joined by horticultural therapist Kendall Marie Platt to explore the science behind soil, why getting your hands in the dirt can change your mood, and how gardening might help us regulate stress in ways modern life often forgets.

And in many ways, Kendall’s story captures the spirit of this season’s theme: expect the unexpected. From forensic science labs to flowers and soil, her journey is a reminder that sometimes the paths we never planne...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila Ainge checks back in with coaches Emma Thomas and Lucy Green a few months after they set ambitious business goals. The conversation reveals how real progress unfolds.

Emma shares how a community project had to pause due to unforeseen circumstances and teases us with a new book project!. Lucy reflects on launching her programme Good Company, which sparked strong interest but fewer sales than expected, leading her to adapt the offer and rethink how clients take their first steps into corporate work.

Across the conversation, a common theme...

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” a...

What actually happens to your confidence once you start pursuing a goal?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist Leila Ainge checks back in with three creatives who set goals on the podcast weeks earlier, Graphic Designer Bhavini, Animator Duncan and Documentary Maker Dany. Instead of tidy success stories, you’ll hear what goal pursuit looks like in real life, confidence rising and dipping, perfectionism showing up, comparison creeping in, and plans changing shape.

Through honest reflection and psychological insight, this episode explores why confidence doesn’t grow in a straight line, how visibility reduces fear...

Why do resolutions wobble just when we think they should be working?

This episode explores avoidance crafting, impatience, burnout, and how goals, habits, and mental distance shape real progress especially in January.

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila explores the intricacies of human behavior, particularly focusing on the themes of resolutions, goals, and habits. She discusses the common pitfalls of New Year's resolutions, the importance of understanding the difference between resolutions and goals, and how habits play a crucial role in achieving these goals. Leila also delves into the impact of social comparison on...

Why do goals that feel exciting at first suddenly become exhausting even when we care deeply about them?

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, I explore why goals often become unsustainable not because of a lack of motivation or discipline, but because they’re designed for ideal conditions rather than real life.

Drawing on psychology, environmental thinking, and embodied cognition, we look at how our physical and emotional environments quietly shape what we’re able to sustain long before willpower ever comes into play.

You’ll be introduced to the concept of solastalgia, a term...

Bonus Episode

In this deeply honest and energising episode of Psychologically Speaking, Dany Johnston — data & AI consultant, documentary filmmaker, and PhD researcher — shares her most ambitious and vulnerable goal yet: to create and release a new documentary filmed during a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to the Arctic Circle.

Dany’s story is one of dual passions: 25 years in business transformation and data, and a lifelong pull toward storytelling, creativity, and human rights. Her PhD bridges those worlds, exploring how data harvesting and AI shape the human rights landscape — and how documentary can help everyday people join conversations that usually happen behind closed d...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Emma returns to share her 2026 goal — and it’s one that will resonate with anyone whose business has grown faster than their systems.

Emma describes the year ahead as a “cupboard under the stairs” moment — the kind of messy-but-essential reorganisation that requires everything to come out before the clarity goes back in. We talk about the three strands of her work (Managing the Menopause, The Triple Shift coaching practice, and Holding Up the Sky) and the emotional labour of running a multi-offer business while supporting women in some of life’s most demandi...

A conversation about creative confidence, goal setting, and how sharing your work builds self-worth. Designer Bhavini joins Leila to explore fear, visibility, and growth.

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila Ainge sits down with creative designer Bhavini (B81 Designs) to explore the psychology behind creative confidence, self-worth, and setting goals that stretch you.

Bhavini shares the now-iconic story of her childhood Peter Rabbit — the rainbow-drenched sculpture her mum repainted white — and how that moment shaped her creative identity decades later. It becomes a powerful metaphor for self-expression, suppression, and the courage to show the work...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, Leila talks with marketer, community-builder and marathon-in-training Hannah Isted, about her 2026 goals.

Together, they explore how ambitious stretch goals like scaling a marketing membership and finishing the London Marathon in a faster time, require the same core ingredients: consistency, accountability, community, and strategic planning.

This conversation blends the worlds of business growth, running, and mindset coaching, showing how transferable skills like contingency planning, habit building, and overcoming self-sabotage can fuel both entrepreneurial success and marathon training.

Hannah shares the motivation behind her bold business goals, the momentum...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking: The Goal Experiments, Lucy shares her 2026 goal, not just for her business, but for the women who benefit when she succeeds.

We talk about what it means to set a goal that has social impact. Lucy’s ambition is grounded in something practical: helping more women secure meaningful contracts and build financially independent businesses.

This is a grounded, thoughtful conversation about the kind of goal that changes not just a business, but the people around it. If you’re setting your own 2026 intentions, Lucy’s clarity and ambition might be exa...

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking: The Goal Experiments, animator and filmmaker Duncan Catterall-Mason talks to Leila Ainge on what it really takes to build a sustainable freelance career in the creative industries. They talk about ambition and burnout when you’re raising a family and trying to carve out time to network.

Duncan shares his 16-year journey in animation and visual effects, why he’s shifting toward a premium service model, and what launching a new showreel by December will unlock for his growth in 2026. We dig into the psychology of social proof, the realities of clie...

Why do some goals stick while others fade?

In this episode, psychologist Leila Ainge explores the psychology behind effective goal-setting — blending insights from real conversations with three guests and research on motivation, social identity, and resilience.

You’ll hear how Rebecca, Jen, and Darren each navigate creative ambition, self-belief, and belonging, and how their stories reveal the deeper psychological forces shaping success.

Expect practical reflection points on:

Designer and illustrator Darren Scotland, founder of Ace of Place, joins psychologist Leila Ainge to talk about creative ambition, belonging, and the self-doubt that often comes with growth.

Darren’s 2026 goal is to grow his business from a solo studio into a collaborative creative brand — one that celebrates homes, buildings, and the stories that make them meaningful. Together, he and Leila unpack what it means to balance ambition with authenticity, to manage fear of failure, and to build systems strong enough to hold a bigger vision.

This conversation explores:

In this first conversation of The Goal Experiments, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge speaks with yoga teacher Jen Vaughan about the tension between giving and receiving, authenticity and marketing, nurture and profit.

Together, they unpack what happens when care is your craft: how to claim space, ask for fair payment, and show up as your whole self without feeling like you’ve lost something in the process.

We follow Jen as she sets her first 2026 “goal-resolution”:

In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge talks with Rebecca Slater, who’s setting a powerful goal for 2026: to write her first book.

Together they explore what it really takes to move from wanting to doing — overcoming procrastination, creating time, and building habits that last. Rebecca shares how shifting her mindset, using community support, and redefining success are helping her take the first steps toward authorship.

This episode looks closely at the psychology of writing goals, the myth of the “perfect time,” and how accountability and self-compassion can turn creative aspirations into act...

In this episode, psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge explores the quiet tension many women experience in business — the space between ambition and the pressure to be “good.” Drawing on findings from Good Girl Economics, her research collaboration with Nicky Denson-Elliott, Leila examines why conversations about profit, visibility, and ambition can feel uncomfortable for women, even in supportive entrepreneurial spaces.

Listeners will hear how gendered expectations and internalised narratives shape pricing decisions, confidence, and self-presentation — and why women often soften their ambition in order to belong. Leila highlights the gap between what women say they value and how they beh...

Welcome to my favourite field, yes.. you heard that right. In this episode I'm talking about the suprising benefits of noticing a tree, field or bit of nature near to you.

What’s the real difference between joy, fulfilment, and striving? In this episode, psychologist Leila Ainge explores the psychology behind our endless chase for more—and why true joy often hides in life’s quieter moments. Drawing on research into hedonic adaptation and flow, Leila unpacks how to tell the difference between healthy ambition and the anxiety of overstriving. You’ll learn how to savour success, sustain motivation, and find balance between progress and peace.

Plus—Leila shares exciting news about Season 4 of Psychologically Speaking and a live Joy Experiment you can join to put the science of joy int...

What does it really mean to be seen? In this episode of Psychologically Speaking, I sit down with Karen Staniland- Platt, a Manchester-based photographer and writer who’s passionate about capturing women as they truly are.

We talk about what happens when women step in front of the camera: the nerves, the joy, the shift in self-image that can follow. Our conversation ranges from the pressures of social media filters to the liberation of candid photography, and why authenticity is such a powerful antidote to perfection.

Karen also shares the story behind the Passion and Pu...