In this episode of Taking Control of Your Career, I take you inside a real coaching session from earlier this week to explore something I see time and time again with high-achieving women: why rest feels uncomfortable, and why we return to lives that quietly drain us.

The session came off the back of an enforced pause over Christmas - illness, cancelled plans, and a decision not to work. What emerged was a growing sense of restlessness and a realisation that even the simplest parts of life had started to feel like tasks.

Reading to her children.
Walking the dog.
Cooking dinner.

All of it had become something to get through.

She described being physically present but mentally elsewhere - often called out by her partner for “not being in the room”. That awareness was important, but it wasn’t the breakthrough.

The real insight came next.

She had set a genuine intention to be more present in 2026. To reconnect with things she actually enjoys - reading, walking, cooking. Nothing extreme. Nothing aspirational. Just accessible, friction-free choices.

And yet, two weeks later, she hadn’t stuck with it.

Instead, she’d slipped back into what felt familiar and validating: being busy, productive, and needed. Working hard in a job she says she loves — despite coming into my world because she’s deeply dissatisfied with her career.

We explored how this showed up:

• Going to the gym but checking emails between sets
• Going for a walk but listening to productivity podcasts
• Feeling successful only if she was exhausted

Rest, it turned out, had to be earned.

We talked about the invisible conditions she placed on herself before allowing downtime - the tick lists, the clearing of emails, the belief that rest comes last. These micro habits slowly become behaviours we mistake for personality traits.

She also shared something I hear more often than people admit: a quiet wish that something catastrophic - but not fatal - might happen, just to give her permission to change. External permission to stop and do things differently.

As the session unfolded, another truth emerged.

She is ambitious, driven, and capable — and somewhere along the way she had fused ambition with hustle, worth with productivity, and value with being needed.

That belief system runs deep. It’s not dismantled in one session. Over the coming months, we’ll break it down and rebuild something more sustainable, aligned, and intentional.

💭 Questions to Reflect On

• What are you in pursuit of right now?
• What conditions are you placing on yourself to achieve it?
• What stories are linking rest, worth, and achievement?

One question I’ll leave you with:

How are you complicit in the conditions you complain about?

🚀 Ready to Take Back Control?

I work with high-achieving career women who know they want more — more clarity, momentum, and alignment.

If you’re ready to break up with the stories keeping you stuck and finally move forward with intention, Reset to Rise is open.

👉 Fill in the activation form
Let’s book a 1:1 and explore your next move

🎧 Taking Control of Your Career

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_sallyspicerincluded/

In this episode of Taking Control of Your Career, I share my own journey from high-achieving recruiter to career transition and identity coach and how owning my story has been key to creating clarity, confidence, and aligned career decisions.

I talk openly about the conditioning, gender inequity, and internal narratives that kept me playing smaller than I needed to and why so many capable, successful women still doubt themselves, even when they’re more than ready for what’s next.

This episode is for mid-career women who know they want more! More alignment, more impact, more fulfilment and who are ready to stop waiting and start taking back control.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why high-achieving women undervalue themselves
• How your career story shapes confidence and opportunity
• The hidden cost of staying safe and “good enough”
• What it really means to approach career transition from abundance
• How to break free from stories you’ve outgrown

Ready to take action?
Reset to Rise is now open.

Fill in the activation form linked here and we’ll book a 1:1 to explore working together. https://talent-included.mykajabi.com/career-activation

Insta - https://www.instagram.com/_sallyspicerincluded/

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyspicer/

Lets connect

If you’re heading into career transition feeling stuck, restless, burnt out, or unsure what your next career move should be, this episode is for you.

Before we talk goals, job titles, or next steps, we slow everything down. This episode is about intention not pressure. Not fixing. Not forcing clarity.

In this session, I explore how so many career decisions are driven by fear, panic, and the need to escape discomfort and what changes when you start defining your career on your terms instead.

We talk identity, self-doubt, the stories that keep us “safe” but stuck, and why you don’t need a new job to start showing up differently.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why career transition often comes with noise, panic, and pressure
• The difference between intention and achievement
• How fear and self-protection shape career decisions
• Redefining career success based on your current life
• The stories that block clarity and how to loosen their grip
• Reclaiming control, responsibility, and agency

This is a grounding, honest conversation designed to help you calm the noise, reconnect with yourself, and move forward with intention not fear.

Want to take things further here is the link to my activation form https://talent-included.mykajabi.com/career-activation

And you can follow me on Linkedin here https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyspicer/

And Insta here https://www.instagram.com/_sallyspicerincluded/