I am excited to introduce you to today’s guest, my very own baby sister, Kate Shelerud. Today we are going to talk about learning how to use your giftings, how to find true community, and how to celebrate other’s successes without questioning your own. Today’s interview is extra special because I get to share my best friend with you but our conversation is one of my favorite episodes to date- because we get down to what real relationships look like, which can be messy.

 SHOW NOTES

Kate is in a fresh new phase of her life as she just graduated from the University of Minnesota and is a pediatric nurse at the Mayo Clinic (1:00).

She was a Division I runner for all four years of college and went through a transition that many competitive athletes face when their career ends (2:00).

The decisions Kate makes now in her health isn’t performance-based, but she now has a new way of measuring if she is living a healthy lifestyle (3:11).

She admits that there is a competitive fire between her and Jenna but it’s not a direct competition between the two (5:55).

“Jenna’s killing it in the world right now and she’s really going after stuff; I kind of want to keep pace” (6:01)

Kate adds that competition can be channelled in a way that’s not wanting the other person to be down, but pulls you up (6:58)

Coming from a small town, there was an expectation for her to be really involved in the community in multiple things, but going to a large college made her hone in on her passions and skillsets. This included becoming a team captain and working towards being a nurse (8:30).

She notes that there’s no rigid and set way to do anything, and she did her thesis on the positive effects of yoga in older females when other classmates were doing “meatier” topics (10:00).

Kate admits that she was terrified to run for a Division I school, especially coming off an injury and not being in top shape her first year. She had expected to be one of the worst runners on the team and she wrestled with this, but she did see promise, which inspired her (11:45).

“I got in there and honestly, have never had more fun at failing at something” (12:35)

When you’re younger, she says you compare and measure yourself against others based on awards or achievements, but as you get older this moves towards things that can’t be measured as easily, like the amount of drive you have, your boy and your lifestyle (16:00).

“It’s really easy to just chase and chase, and never get it” (16:48)

Kate believes that it’s never wrong to encourage someone else (21:10).

She notes that we’re in an era where so many people are afraid to drop their guard and be vulnerable, although Jenna and others use social media as a platform to do this (26:00).

“It’s ok to shed your layers and put yourself out there” (26:21)

Kate now focuses on following her instincts in her own time, with such passions like writing poetry and painting (28:10). She absolutely loves her job as a nurse and wants to keep growing at that, but she also realizes that she wants her life outside of work to be whole (29:13).

“I just want to live a big, fat, juicy, creative life” (30:00)

She understands that by her working her hardest and doing her best, it doesn’t take away from anyone else and she wants others to be happy and live their own best life (34:28).

Her top five strengths going into university, based on an assessment completed, were competition, achievement, input, positivity and winning others over. In her senior year, she got strategic, empathetic and developer along with a few of her original strengths. She doesn’t think her skillset changed that much, but she just let her guard down and was able to find what she was naturally good at (35:30).

Having a strategy in business is not wrong, although that is a thought that’s been embedded in us (39:00).

When someone’s social media posts upset you, it’s easy to unfollow that person. However, you really need to consider what’s going on inside of your own heart that’s making you feel this way (43:30).

“No thought is good or bad; simply acknowledge it” (44:48)

You might not have the power to control your thoughts, as you’re going to think what you’re going to think, but you have the power to act on them and see which ones you’re going to listen to (47:37).

LINKS: 

https://www.instagram.com/kateshelerud

Headspace App (for Meditation)