#010: Stepping into the Swamp: Psychological Flexibility & ACT for Career Transitions with Dr. Rachael Skews
How do you navigate career transitions when things feel uncertain and uncomfortable?
In this episode in English, I’m joined by Dr. Rachael Skews — behavioural scientist, psychologist, coach, and internationally recognised expert in Acceptance & Commitment Coaching.
We take a deep dive into career transitions and psychological flexibility & ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy),exploring why uncertainty, fear, impostor thoughts, and self-doubt often show up when our work really matters — and how ACT can help us move forward.
*
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to Choose Work
01:05 Career transitions, psychological flexibility, and why this episode matters
01:30 Meet Dr. Rachael Skews and her work in Acceptance & Commitment Coaching
03:10 What Acceptance & Commitment Coaching really is (and what it isn’t)
06:45 Impostor thoughts, self-doubt, and why high performers experience them
08:30 Why the goal isn’t to get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings
10:30 Rachael’s non-linear career journey: consultancy, academia, health tech, and entrepreneurship
15:10 Moving from academia to Headspace and working in behavioural science
18:10 Entrepreneurship, uncertainty, and psychological flexibility as a resource
20:00 Rest, recovery, and treating yourself like an elite performer
22:20 Self-criticism, overworking, and building self-compassion at work
23:40 Redundancy, career inflection points, and conscious career choice
25:10 Starting a business: loneliness, creativity, and stepping into the swamp
27:30 Values, meaning, and designing work that actually fits you
30:10 The “swamp” metaphor: discomfort as the price of meaningful work
33:00 Fear, uncertainty, and speaking outside your comfort zone
35:10 ACT in action: focusing on what’s on the other side of the swamp
38:00 Risk tolerance, uncertainty, and how personality shapes career choices
42:20 Case example: supporting a senior leader considering entrepreneurship
45:00 Scarcity mindset, money fears, and responsibility during career transitions
48:00 Why fear makes sense — and why it shouldn’t make the decision
50:30 Is it ever too late to build psychological flexibility?
53:10 Psychological flexibility as “conscious evolution”
54:20 Rachael’s upcoming book on Acceptance & Commitment Coaching
56:00 A practical reflection exercise for listeners navigating career transitions
58:10 Where to find Rachael and her work
*
Resources mentioned:
- Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) [https://contextualscience.org/]
- ACBS World Conference 2026 [https://contextualscience.org/wc2026]
*
Contact Dr. Rachael Skews and learn more about her work:
- Website: https://www.rachaelskews.com/
- The Coaching UnpACT podcast [https://www.coachingunpact.com/]
*
For show notes, please visit heididelanghe.com/podcast [https://www.heididelanghe.com/podcast]
For feedback or suggestions for topics or guests, email me atcontact@heididelanghe.com
Contact Heidi - Evidence-based Coach & Trainer: Book a free discovery call at heididelanghe.com/contact [https://www.heididelanghe.com/contact]
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe [www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe]
Instagram: instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/ [https://www.instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/]
