What happens when the job you worked so hard to achieve no longer fits the life you want to live?

A licensed clinical psychologist, life coach, and long‑time yoga teacher, Alise Murray joins host Michael Millward to discuss: What happens when your ideal job no longer fits the life you want to live?

Alise spent years building a career she loved — clinical work, teaching, and eventually a coveted assistant professorship — only to discover that the realities of academia were squeezing out the very parts of the work that once lit her up. As she puts it, “It’s like suddenly I’m wearing a size eight shoe when I have a size nine foot.”

Alise explains how she made the bold decision to focus on home and family, and talks candidly about the fear of leaving stability, the financial challenges that followed.

Yet she also shares how those difficult years taught her to align spending, time, and values — Your banking app can be a mirror of the life you’re actually living.

The episode explores:

• How to recognise when your “dream job” is no longer the dream
• The emotional and practical realities of walking away from a secure career
• Why boundaries matter — and what happens when institutions ignore them
• The role of self‑reflection in major life decisions
• How financial habits can reveal your true values
• The importance of designing a life that fits, rather than forcing yourself into one that doesn’t

Alise now runs a successful private practice built around, integrating psychology, coaching, and whole‑body wellness. Her story is not about abandoning ambition — it’s about redefining it

Discover more about Alise Murray and Michael at Abeceder.co.uk

Audience Offers

Rachael mentions the book: The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work, which is available from Amazon.

Rest and Recreation is made on Zencastr, because it is so easy to use. Visit Zencastr.

Travel – at trade prices to anywhere in the world at trade prices as a member of The Ultimate Travel Club.

Health – The Annual Health Test from York Test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist at your home or workplace. Hospital standard tests for 39 health markers.

A Personal Wellness Hub provides easy-to-understand results and guidance for effective lifestyle changes anytime.

Visit York Test and use this discount code REST25.

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Thank you to you for listening.

We appreciate every like, download, and subscription.

Recruiting and managing a virtual assistant is more complex than you expect.

Michael Millward chats with Rachael Davila– founder of Extra Hands Virtual Assistants, VA mentor, and author of Do I Need a VA? – for a conversation that goes far deeper than the usual “hire a helper” advice. Drawing on more than 20 years in the virtual assistant industry, Rachael explains how small business owners can work out whether they truly need a VA, what kind of support will actually help them, and how to build a relationship that unlocks time, creativity, and strategic focus.

Across the episode, Rachael shares her accidental entry into the VA world, how she built a long‑running business, and why the biggest barrier for overwhelmed entrepreneurs isn’t delegation—it’s mindset. She breaks down the two core VA types (“doers” and “collaborators”), the internal identity shift required to hand off work, and the surprising ways a VA can become a sounding board, operational partner, and catalyst for growth.

Listeners will hear real examples of clients who transformed their businesses, learn why processes matter, and discover how to assess their own readiness – including the simple pre‑work that makes hiring support far less daunting.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a virtual assistant could help you reclaim time, reduce stress, or finally move those big ideas forward, this episode will make you think.

Discover more about Kate Hendrickson and Michael at Abeceder.co.uk

Audience Offers

Rachael mentions the book: The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work, which is available from Amazon.

Rest and Recreation is made on Zencastr, because it is so easy to use. Visit Zencastr.

Travel – at trade prices to anywhere in the world at trade prices as a member of The Ultimate Travel Club.

Health – The Annual Health Test from York Test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist at your home or workplace. Hospital standard tests for 39 health markers.

A Personal Wellness Hub provides easy-to-understand results and guidance for effective lifestyle changes anytime.

Visit York Test and use this discount code REST25.

Tech Problems? – Visit Three for information about business and personal telecom solutions from Three, and the special offers available when you quote our referral code WPFNUQHU.

Be a Guest Visit Matchmaker.fm. Use code MILW10 for a discount on membership.

We recommend that potential guests take one of the podcasting guest training programmes available from Work Place Learning Centre.

Thank you to you for listening.

We appreciate every like, download, and subscription.

How to manage the conflicting demands of work, career ambitions and family aspirations and not be a burned out working Mom?

A raw, relatable, and quietly powerful episode of Rest and Recreation for anyone trying to juggle work, identity, and a brand‑new baby. In this conversation, licensed mental health counsellor Christi Gmyr shares with host Michael Millward the truth behind returning to work after “only 10 weeks [with her new born] before I was expected to be back at work” and the emotional whiplash of wanting a career while wanting to be home.

From midnight on‑call shifts to the guilt of daycare drop‑offs, Christi’s story captures the pressure modern parents face — and the courage it takes to redesign your life when the old version no longer fits. As she puts it, “what was working before maybe isn’t working now.”

Christi describes her journey from agency work and on‑call nights to the difficult decision to leave a nine‑year career and rebuild her professional life in a way that aligned with her values and the demands of parenthood. Along the way, she reflects on resentment, exhaustion, shifting identities, and the invisible work mothers often do; all while acknowledging the supportive role of her husband and the absence of a local extended family.

This episode is bold, honest, and full of the kind of clarity that makes you rethink your own balance. Perfect for working parents, HR leaders, and anyone who’s ever felt stretched thin by competing priorities.

Discover more about Christi Gmyr and Michael at Abeceder.co.uk

Audience Offers

Rest and Recreation is made on Zencastr, because it is so easy to use. You can as well. Visit Zencastr.

Travel – at trade prices to anywhere in the world at trade prices as a member of The Ultimate Travel Club.

Health – The Annual Health Test from York Test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist at your home or workplace. Hospital standard tests for 39 health markers.

A Personal Wellness Hub provides easy-to-understand results and guidance for effective lifestyle changes anytime.

Visit York Test and use this discount code REST25.

Tech Problems? – Visit Three for information about business and personal telecom solutions from Three, and the special offers available when you quote our referral code WPFNUQHU.

Be a Guest Visit Matchmaker.fm. Use code MILW10 for a discount on membership.

We recommend that potential guests take one of the podcasting guest training programmes available from Work Place Learning Centre.

Thank you to you for listening.

We appreciate every like, download, and subscription.