Dr. Trish Leigh Podcast

Episode #203: Why Your New Year’s Goals Fail — and How to Become Supernormal Instead
Host: Dr. Trish Leigh
Release Date: January 4, 2026

Episode Overview

In this energizing New Year’s episode, Dr. Trish Leigh unpacks the real reasons why most New Year’s goals fail, linking modern struggles with screens, explicit material, and digital dopamine to miswiring the brain. She explains how this “algorithm hijack” derails personal growth and outlines actionable steps to reclaim normalcy, achieve optimal brain performance, and become “supernormal” in 2026. Dr. Leigh also shares personal anecdotes, brain hacks, and her foundational “Be-Do-Have” framework to help listeners rewire their brains and pursue lasting change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The “Algorithm Hijack” and How It Sabotages Goals

• New Year's Goal-Setting: Dr. Leigh highlights the universal motivation for self-improvement at the start of the year—financial, fitness, relational, and personal goals.
• Digital Distraction:
  • Screens, from social media to explicit material, are designed to hook your attention and hijack your intentions.
  • She warns, “The algorithm is engineered to make you fail.” (01:32)
  • Even mundane screen habits—checking texts, scrolling Instagram, binge-watching, or consuming explicit content—flood the brain with high, artificial dopamine, teaching it to prefer quick digital rewards over achieving real-life goals (04:25).
• Negative Feedback Loop:
  • Engagement with screens creates a “downward spiral,” training the brain to self-sabotage and prioritize digital dopamine over deeper, long-term pleasure from real achievement (06:17).
  • “You trained that algorithm. It's engineered to make you fail at your goals by giving your brain excessive dopamine, to make it feel better... higher than you could be rewarded in the real world.” (04:58)

2. Brain Miswiring: “Strained Brain” and “Drained Brain”

• Strained Brain (08:13):
  • Results from chronic overstimulation by screens: stressed yet exhausted, anxious yet numbed.
  • Common symptoms: Anxiety, exhaustion, brain fog, ADHD-like symptoms, sexual arousal dysfunction (SAD), and even depression.
• Drained Brain:
  • After prolonged “straining,” the brain may tip into a “drained” state—numbness, lack of motivation, and various arousal or performance dysfunctions.
  • “I don't want this to be a sad year for you. If last year was sad for you with ED or DE or PE even, this is your year, my friend.” (10:05)
• Origin: “It comes from a miswired brain. It's the only way it comes. An optimal brain doesn't feel stressed or anxious. It doesn't feel tired. It doesn't feel foggy. It feels clear. It feels focused. It feels on purpose. That's what I want for you this year. And your libido comes back, too. Bonus, right, my friend?” (12:13)

3. The Path to “Rewiring”

• Three Rewiring Tools: Mind, Body, and Technology (14:00):
  • Mind: Dr. Leigh cautions that a dysregulated brain produces a distorted mind, making change difficult but not impossible (“A very distorted mind makes it very difficult for you to rewire your brain... But you can.” 15:14)
  • Body: Physical state mirrors brain regulation; sexual dysfunction is a brain-based issue, not merely physical.
  • Technology: Neurofeedback and tools like a “brain map” can objectively reveal how your brain is performing and help target optimal rewiring.
• Personalized Approach: Dr. Leigh encourages listeners to schedule a consultation for a brain map: “If you want to see how your brain is holding you back from your full potential... it's time to schedule a meeting with me.” (17:27)

4. Dr. Leigh’s “Be-Do-Have” Brain Hack

• Concept:
  • “You have to be the person that you want to be and you have to do the things that you need to do to have the life that you want.” (18:10)
  • Reverse engineering your goals: start with what you want to have, then determine what you need to do, and who you need to become.
• Real-Life Application:
  • Dr. Leigh shares a family anecdote about post-game indulgences to illustrate breaking unhealthy patterns.
  • On fitness goals: “Declan and I have been talking about this a lot. He wants me to measure my food every single day. I'm like, dude, I don't know if I can hit the macros like you do...” (23:37)
  • Insight into self-sabotage: Skipping meals, binge eating at night, festive overindulgence impact sleep, well-being, and reinforce “drained brain.”
• Action Task:
  • Create three columns labeled Be, Do, and Have in your journal.
  • List what you want (Have), what actions are necessary (Do), and the identity or mindset required (Be).
  • “There are so many versions of you out there that you do not know yet. And all I want you to know is that if you're not the version of yourself that you want to be, it's there for the taking.” (22:01)
• Language Shift:
  • Dr. Leigh emphasizes using healthier mental frameworks, e.g., rebranding “spending freeze” as a “resource conservation plan” (28:55).
  • “If you want to have financial peace, or if you want to have more money, you need a resource conservation plan like the one I've made for the new year.” (28:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the algorithm’s power over your brain:
  • “The algorithm is engineered to make you fail.” (01:32)
• On being honest about digital habits:
  • “If you reach over and grab your phone and check it first thing in the morning? ... your brain has been hijacked.” (03:14)
• On dopamine and real life:
  • “When the algorithm hijacks your brain, all the dopamine's in the screen. Not enough of the dopamine is in your life.” (06:09)
• On brain miswiring and SAD:
  • “If you struggle with anxiety, exhaustion, brain fog, ADHD symptoms, or any type of sexual arousal dysfunction. It comes from a miswired brain.” (11:41)
• On the Be-Do-Have framework:
  • “You have to be the person that you want to be and you have to do the things that you need to do to have the life that you want.” (18:10)
• On self-transformation:
  • “Every year I do this. Every year I'm a new person. It's true.” (21:15)
• On healthy financial goal-setting:
  • “We're on a resource conservation plan. Yes. That is using language in a healthy way.” (28:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Kickoff: New Year’s goals and the role of digital screen habits
• 03:14 – Recognizing the algorithm hijack in morning routines
• 04:58 – How digital dopamine hijacks motivation and sabotages goals
• 08:13 – Explanation of “strained brain” and digital fatigue
• 10:05 – Introduction of the SAD (sexual arousal dysfunction) acronym and warning about “drained brain”
• 12:13 – Vision of an optimal, high-performing brain
• 14:00 – The three tools for rewiring your brain: Mind, Body, and Technology
• 17:27 – Inviting listeners to brain mapping and personal steps forward
• 18:10 – The Be-Do-Have brain hack and reversing the self-sabotage loop
• 23:37 – Personal fitness strategies and changing entrenched habits
• 28:55 – Language shifts: From “spending freeze” to “resource conservation plan”

Takeaway Brain Hack

Actionable Next Step:

• Draw three columns: Be, Do, Have.
• List your desires under Have, determine necessary actions under Do, and define your ideal self under Be.
• Reflect on how your digital habits and daily routines align—or conflict—with these goals and identities.

Closing Challenge:

“If you're caught up in the screen, you have to stop the hijack. You have to stop that miswiring. Immediately and and start rewiring. So go be do have.” (31:00)

Final Note

Dr. Trish Leigh motivates listeners not only to set goals but to fundamentally change how they pursue and achieve them—by understanding and addressing the powerful physiological and psychological impact of digital habits on the brain. The episode is packed with relatable stories, tough truths, and practical strategies for breaking free from self-sabotage to reach “supernormal” performance in the new year.