What happens when your life looks perfectly fine on paper, but you're quietly trapped in a life or career that no longer fits?

This episode began with an email from a listener. She is accomplished, respected, highly capable, and yet she feels like she has no room to breathe, no time to think, and no idea how to get unstuck. She told us she feels weighed down by the golden handcuffs, unsure whether she can take a step backward in seniority, afraid of starting again, worried about losing flexibility, and pulled between gratitude for what she has and a growing sense that something needs to change.

These feelings are more common than most people realise. So today, we wanted to talk about what being stuck really looks like, why it happens to smart people with good careers, and how you can begin to loosen the grip without blowing up your life.

We unpack the emotional, financial, practical and psychological forces that keep people exactly where they are. From the sunk cost fallacy to confidence dips, cognitive load, the fear of making a wrong move, the weight of responsibility, and the false belief that flexibility and fulfilling work cannot coexist, this episode goes deep into the real barriers that make change so hard.

And then we talk through ideas and small, practical moves to help you start shifting things. Because getting unstuck is rarely one big leap. It is usually small, intentional changes that slowly make space for clarity, courage and choice.

Whether you are feeling trapped in your job, sitting in the discomfort of "fine", craving more fulfilment, or just needing permission to question the rules you have internalised, this conversation will meet you where you are and offer gentle ways forward.

• The reality of feeling stuck in your career
• Why cognitive load makes it impossible to plan a way out
• Finding micro-moments of time when life feels full
• The sunk cost fallacy and why your brain fights against change
• Golden handcuffs and the fear of going backwards
• Using the Backwards Budget to understand what you actually need
• Rebuilding confidence after a break or big life shift
• The devil you know and the myth that change is always riskier
• How to experiment, test ideas and make decisions with less fear
• Why small shifts are often more powerful than dramatic ones

If you loved this episode... Share it with a friend who’s wanting a change (or just needs permission to do the thing!).

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Hosted and produced by Shayla Strapps