Scrolling through social media and feeling that familiar sinking feeling? That's not accidental—it's engineered. But the real cost of comparison goes way beyond just feeling bad for a few minutes. In this solo episode, Eimear reveals three hidden costs of the comparison trap and shares one research-backed protocol that actually works to break free from the cycle.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00] Introduction: The comparison trap and why it's engineered [02:30] Hidden Cost #1: The opportunity cost of your attention [06:30] Hidden Cost #2: The goal hijacking phenomenon [10:30] Hidden Cost #3: The confidence compound interest you're missing [14:30] Why willpower doesn't work (and what does) [16:30] The Values Clarity & Replacement Protocol - Step 1: The 10-Minute Values Compass [19:00] Step 2: Creating your "Instead Of" list [21:00] Step 3: Implementation intentions that actually work [24:00] Your 7-day challenge

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Every time you switch your attention to scroll, it takes 23 minutes to refocus on your original task fully
• Exposure to others' goals on social media actually changes your own goals without you realizing it—leading to "borrowed dreams"
• Comparison breaks the confidence compound interest cycle—you're gathering evidence of others' success instead of building your own
• You can't just stop comparing—you have to replace it with something that honors your actual values
• Implementation intentions (if-then planning) make you 2-3x more likely to follow through on behavior change

KEY THEMES

• Understanding the hidden costs of social comparison beyond mood
• The neuroscience of attention and distraction
• Values-based decision making vs. comparison-based living
• Building confidence through action rather than observation
• Creating sustainable behavior change through replacement, not restriction

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Free and low-cost confidence-building resources: https://stan.store/eimearzone
• Research cited: Dr. Gloria Mark (UC Irvine) on attention residue
• Dr. Albert Bandura's self-efficacy research
• Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory
• Peter Gollwitzer's implementation intention research
• Cal Newport's work on deep work and attention

KEY RESEARCH SOURCES

• Mark, G., et al. (2005). "No task left behind? Examining the nature of fragmented work"
• Festinger, L. (1954). "A theory of social comparison processes"
• Bandura, A. (1997). "Self-efficacy: The exercise of control"
• Vogel, E. A., et al. (2014). "Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem"
• Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). "Implementation intentions and goal achievement"
• Hunt, M. G., et al. (2018). "No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression"

Share Your Thoughts

CONNECT WITH EIMEAR

Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

What happens when a woman experiences a problem firsthand — and decides not to tolerate it?

In this powerful conversation, Eimear is joined by Vanessa Karel, founder of Greether, an award-winning, global travel platform built by women, for women — centered on safety, trust, connection, and economic empowerment.

After being stranded alone during the pandemic and experiencing the vulnerability so many women know too well while traveling, Vanessa didn’t just adapt; she built a solution. Today, Greether connects female travelers with verified local women (“greeters”) in over 100 countries, creating safer, richer travel experiences and paid opportunities for women worldwide.

This episode marks the first in a new guest interview series, spotlighting women founders who are actively solving for women — not waiting for permission, not asking to be included, but building what we actually need.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why women’s safety and connection still aren’t centered in global travel — and how Greether changes that
• What it means to solve a problem you’re living, not just theorizing
• How Greether works (and why it’s more than a tour guide)
• Why connection matters just as much as safety
• Employing women globally through ethical, meaningful work
• The discipline required to turn an idea into a real company
• Asking for help, being a beginner, and choosing yourself before you feel “ready”
• Why building for women is sustainability

This is a conversation about courage, discipline, asking, starting scrappy, and refusing to shrink — even when the path isn’t clear.

About Our Guest

Vanessa Karel is a Latina entrepreneur, speaker, and the founder of Greether, a women-first travel platform connecting female travelers with trusted local women around the world.

Greether has been:

• Named Best Travel Startup of the Year
• Recognized by the UN World Tourism Organization as one of the most empowering female-led travel companies globally
• Featured internationally for its impact on women’s economic empowerment and safety

Vanessa is passionate about building technology that serves real human needs — and about creating income opportunities for women across cultures, ages, and backgrounds.

Ready to experience Greether?

Special discount for listeners of Girl, Choose Yourself! Enjoy $10 off with code Chooseyourself valid until December 31, 2026

🌍 Website: https://www.greether.com

Connect with Vanessa & Greether

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greet.her

💼 LinkedIn (Vanessa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessakarel

📧 Email: vanessa@greether.com

📧 General: info@greether.com

Interested in becoming a Greeter or traveling with one? All bookings and appli

Share Your Thoughts

CONNECT WITH EIMEAR

Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.

January asks us to reinvent ourselves overnight.
But our bodies, and the natural world, tell a different story.

In this episode, Eimear invites you into the quieter turning point that arrives in early February, when the light begins to return, and something inside us starts to stir again.

Through the Celtic festival of Imbolc and the story of Brigid — goddess, saint, healer, poet, and keeper of the flame — we explore how renewal actually happens: slowly, invisibly, and from the inside out.

This conversation is also a reminder that women’s stories, like our own power, are often softened, rewritten, or overlooked — and yet they endure. And maybe parts of you are ready to return too.

We also explore how cultures across the world mark this late-winter threshold, including Lunar New Year traditions, all pointing toward the same truth: life awakens quietly before it blooms.

If you’ve felt pressure to have everything figured out already this year, this episode is an invitation to soften, listen, and reconnect with what’s ready to grow now.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why January 1 rarely feels like a true beginning
• What the Celtic festival of Imbolc represents
• Who Brigid was before she became a saint
• Why women’s stories often disappear — and how they return
• The connection between seasonal rhythms and personal renewal
• A simple ritual to mark this turning point in your own life
• A poetic blessing for stepping into what’s next

Reflection for this week:
What part of you is ready to come back into the light?

Next episode: We begin a new season of conversations with extraordinary women who are shaping culture, business, creativity, and leadership in powerful ways — starting next week with our conversation with the founder of the travel app GreetHer, which is changing the way women travel and connect.

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who might need the reminder: the light is returning — and so are we.

Share Your Thoughts

CONNECT WITH EIMEAR

Free Resources and More: https://stan.store/eimearzone

Explore Working With Eimear:

Book a Call: https://eimearzone.as.me/breakthrough

📱 Instagram: @eimearzonecoach

💻 Website: eimearzone.com 📧

Email: hello@eimearzone.com

Subscribe to Girl, Choose Yourself on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

© 2025 Eimear Zone Coaching. All rights reserved.