Have you ever caught yourself wondering, Is this really the life I want?

Maybe you've found yourself daydreaming about quitting your job, moving overseas, buying a boat, or starting over somewhere completely different. Or maybe you've stayed in situations far longer than you've wanted to because change felt too hard.

In this episode, Ruth explores the importance of giving ourselves permission to keep choosing the lives we're building. She shares reflections from a challenging week, why knowing our own tendencies matters just as much as knowing our values, and introduces a simple exercise she calls The Dream Life Project to help you start creating a life that feels more like your own.

If you've been feeling stuck, restless, or unsure where to start, this episode is for you.

✨ Ready to take the next step?

Join Ruth's upcoming online workshop, Design a Life You Love, where you'll explore your Values, Identity and Priorities, and begin creating a practical roadmap towards a life that feels intentional, aligned and uniquely yours.

🔗 Register here: https://www.thevipmindset.com/design-a-life-you-love-workshop https://www.thevipmindset.com/design-a-life-you-love-workshop

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or leave a review. It helps more women discover the show and start designing lives they love.

This week Ruth explores te whare tapa whā, a model of health and hauora by Sir Mason Durie. She discusses what she’s trying right now, and why habits and community matter more than getting it right every time.

We hear the phrase work-life balance all the time—but what if the problem isn't balance at all?

In this episode of Doing It Messy, Ruth questions why we've been taught to place work at the centre of our lives, with everything else squeezed into the margins. Through personal stories and gentle reflection, she explores the power of intentional choices, the trade-offs we all make, and how creating a life you love starts with asking one simple question:

What am I choosing?

If you've ever felt like life is happening to you rather than being something you're actively creating, this episode is for you.

🎧 Plus, download the free Ten Minutes to Reclaim Your Life worksheet to help you reconnect with what matters most. The link is in the show notes.

Remember: progress over polish.

Some weeks you don't get polished — you get real. This one's about choosing presence over perfection, protecting what matters (hi, parkrun and Alignment Circle prep), and figuring out which balls actually bounce.

**When Ambition Changes**

What happens when the life you've been working towards no longer feels like the life you actually want?

In this episode, I explore how ambition evolves through different seasons of life, why I'm intentionally choosing freedom alongside meaningful work, and how redefining success has brought me closer to the life I want to build. If you've ever questioned whether your goals still fit who you are today, this episode is for you.

✨ I'd love to help you take the next step. DM me **RECLAIM** on Instagram and I'll send you my free **10 Minutes to Reclaim Your Life** worksheet—a guided reflection designed to help you reconnect with what matters most in this season of your life.

Money is one of those things I sometimes wish didn't exist... but since it does, I want to be intentional about how I use it.

In this episode, I'm sharing how I (very imperfectly) use the VIP framework—Values, Identity, and Priorities—to guide my spending, saving, and investing.

I'm definitely not a financial expert, and I'm still figuring out budgeting systems that work for me. But I've found that looking at money through the lens of alignment has helped me make decisions that feel more intentional and much more like *me*.

In this episode, I talk about:

* How my values create "guard rails" around spending.

* Why it's okay to spend money on things that genuinely bring you joy.

* Saving for what matters most

* Investing in the person

* Why I'm building systems instead of relying on willpower.

* The monthly budget check-ins I'm starting to help myself stay on course.

This isn't about having a perfect budget. It's about making sure your money is helping you build a life that feels aligned with who you are.

I'd love to hear what resonated with you. What does your spending say about your values?

A real-life example of how I use the VIP framework to help me live an aligned life at home.

A broken tooth, family dynamics, and the power of a few deep breaths.

Before we set new goals or chase the next milestone, what if we checked the foundations first? In this episode, Ruth shares reflections from her mid-year review, exploring values, identity, alignment, and wellbeing. Inspired by concepts from te ao Māori and her own work around Values, Identity, and Priorities, she unpacks why living in alignment with what matters most might be one of the most important foundations we can build.

How is it almost half way through the year?

Ruth takes us through a reflection exercise using the VIP mindset framework to help us finish the year strong, not stressed.