Finding Quiet in the Noise: Healing Burnout and Reconnecting with Yourself with SuperKate

🎙️ Finding Quiet in the Noise: Healing Burnout and Reconnecting with Yourself with SuperKate

Episode Summary

In this episode of The BOLD and Brilliant Podcast, Tracie sits down with the delightful and deeply insightful SuperKate—a somatic life coach, world-renowned hugger, and former "Do-It-All-I'll-Sleep-Later" woman—for a conversation that so many high-achieving women need to hear. Together, they explore burnout, nervous system regulation, body awareness, and the importance of creating space in a world that constantly encourages us to do more. Through humor, honesty, and profound wisdom, SuperKate reminds us that there is nothing wrong with us—and that perhaps the greatest gift we can give ourselves is permission to simply be. 

What You'll Learn in This Episode

•  Why burnout can follow us, even after changing careers or lifestyles 
•  The difference between exercising your body and listening to your body 
•  How creating small moments of space can transform your life 
•  Why your worth is not determined by your productivity 

Actionable Tips from This Episode

•  Experiment with moments of quiet without filling them with more information 
•  Notice where you may be overriding the signals your body is sending you 
•  Practice doing one thing at a time instead of constant multitasking 
•  Give yourself permission to simply exist without needing to solve everything 

Memorable Quote

"Nothing is wrong with you. You are worthy whether you are active or not." 

Bold Moment of the Episode

After experiencing burnout in the entertainment industry and then again as an entrepreneur, SuperKate made the courageous decision to stop trying to outwork exhaustion. Instead, she chose a different path—one focused on nervous system regulation, creating space, and reconnecting with herself. That shift changed everything and ultimately became the foundation of the work she now shares with women around the world. 

About SuperKate

SuperKate is a world-renowned hugger, somatic life coach, and former Do-It-All-I'll-Sleep-Later who spent years telling herself she was fine, until it was impossible to pretend anymore.

She now helps ambitious, overwhelmed women make the small shifts to find their quiet space inside of the noise so they feel better and enjoy life again. She's also the host of Connecting with SuperKate, a weekly podcast for the “I'm fine” women who are exhausted from holding it all together but who still believe it CAN be better.

Connect with SuperKate

•  Website: https://thesuperkate.com/
•  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superkate
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_superkate
•  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/superkate/
•  Podcast: Connecting with SuperKate
  • https://rss.com/podcasts/connecting-with-superkate/

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Transcript

Tracie Root 0:02

Are you ready to take bold action and live a life of brilliance? Welcome to the Bold and Brilliant Podcast, where women leaders share inspiring stories about daring decisions that shape their businesses, their lives, and their careers. Today, I'm with the fabulous and amazing Super Kate Slepicka. Super Kate is a world renowned hugger, somatic life coach, and former do it all, I'll sleep later, who spent years telling herself she was fine until it was impossible to pretend anymore. She now helps ambitious, overwhelmed women make the small shifts to find their quiet space inside of the noise so they feel better and enjoy life again. She's also the host of Connecting with Super Kate, a weekly podcast for the I'm fine woman who are exhausted from holding it all together, but who still believe it can be better. As we talk, you'll hear Kate share her journey of entrepreneurship, including one bold decision that created her path of what was next. Her story of resilience, risk-taking, and transformation will inspire, encourage, and support your personal and professional growth. Please join me in welcoming Super Kate to the Bold and Brilliant Podcast All right, SuperKate. Hello. I'm so excited that our day has come for us to have this great chat. Welcome to the podcast.

SuperKate Slepicka 1:29

Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Like, yeah.

Tracie Root 1:31

Yeah, it's my pleasure. It's an honor. I'm so excited. Okay, so we've talked a little bit beforehand. Obviously we've met before, but I am really excited for people to get to know you a little bit better. I know that you're, uh, launching into the world of podcasting, has been in the last year or so, so we're gonna help you meet some more people and some more people to meet you, which I'm very stoked about 'cause I think you're super cool and I want more people to know you.

SuperKate Slepicka 1:57

Awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Tracie Root 2:00

Yeah, my pleasure. I look forward to

SuperKate Slepicka 2:01

meeting all the people too,

Tracie Root 2:02

yeah. All the people. Let's meet all the people. Okay. So let's start here, though, because, you know, I know a little bit about what you do, how you work, how you show up for people, but I want them to hear it from you because it's gonna be so much clearer. And let's go back a little bit. Like, how- Yeah start with a little origin story. How did you become SuperKate?

SuperKate Slepicka 2:24

Oh, goodness. Okay. I, the short version is that freshman year of college, I was on spring break with my best friend, who had 12 nicknames despite having a really big, regular name. Uh- nobody really ever broke it down except for Kate, which was fine, 'cause that's really what my parents wanted to call me. But nobody ever gave me nicknames. So, um, on the way back from spring break, I said, "I want a nickname." And she said, "What genre?" And I said, "Let's go with superhero." And an hour later, she just, "I can't think of anything besides SuperKate," which I thought, "Well, that, that's pretty p- like, cool, and, and I can't wait to introduce myself as this," which I immediately started doing. Um, and then subsequently had felt I had to live up to the name, um, in more ways than one, and have only, well, really only one time in my life felt I was not SuperKate and did not, like refused to be called that, refused to be an- like even introduce myself as that. Um, but came back and then recently had a sort of a, "Is that who I am?" And that kind of goes along with, you know, my whole journey of nervous system regulation and, and healing and everything, so. Yeah.

Tracie Root 3:56

Yeah. I love that. Well, I think we've all experienced a little bit of that identity rollercoaster and- Yeah feeling like, you know, the imposter syndrome things and all of that. So okay, so in good superhero fashion, let's go back to your origin story.

SuperKate Slepicka 4:11

Yeah. Tell

Tracie Root 4:12

us a little bit about how you, how you became this amazing woman that you are today.

SuperKate Slepicka 4:19

Uh, the, my parents were amazing. I can't, like, s- yeah, incredible, always believed in, in me and supported me going into the arts, which I spent a large part of my career in. Television, theater, um, music, and just sort of embodying everything that I felt was natural to me, whether that was, you know, my, my, all my tattoos, the clothes I chose to wear, all of the piercings I've had, and, you know, big hair, short hair, whatever it's been. Mm-hmm. Um, but just really, like, going after things and When the entertainment world had sort of rung me out, which it does for a lot of people. It's, it is an incredible field to be in. I don't regret a single moment in it, and I miss it at times. Um,

Tracie Root 5:16

it- Tell us a little bit about what you were doing there that- Oh led you to that feeling.

SuperKate Slepicka 5:21

Yeah. Like, what kind of work were you

Tracie Root 5:23

doing?

SuperKate Slepicka 5:23

Well, at the time I was sort of like executive assistant/production manager- Mm-hmm .../music manager and tour manager. Okay. And I was doing tour management for, um, a couple people on top of all of the stuff that I was doing for sort of my one main artist. And I was working 90 hours a week. I had no boundaries to speak of. The word probably existed back then, but it didn't come across my world. Um, you just did what you had to do to get it done, which is a wonderful, amazing thing about the arts. You kind of just, we, it's never- Make it happen funded enough, right? So you have to make it happen. Yeah. When it comes at the cost of your sleep and your sanity, that's when you need to sort of s- take a look at everything, and I was, I was really lost. I didn't think I would lose myself in that job, but I was lost. I was complaining a lot. I just, I constantly was stepping outside saying, "Is this really what you thought your life was gonna be like?" Mm. Like, yes, there's so many things that you love about the access you have, um, the people you get to work with, the thi- like, some of these crazy things that we get to pull off. And what, you never see your friends, and when you do, you're mostly complaining. You don't actually have any energy to go out and do other things in your life. Mm-hmm. Like, you're living in New York and you don't go to see sh- shows very often, if you had time. So w- what's ha- is this really what you want? Mm-hmm. Is this, all of this resentment really what your life is supposed to be like? And sort of at that same time, like, I was trying to figure out how to move back to Lexington, Kentucky, which has been a very transitional place for me. It was the third time I was gonna move there, and the job and me decided we, we were going separate ways, which was really- It was great. I mean, it was also that grief that you carry- Yeah because there was so much of my identity that had been tied up in that for so long. Um, but I went back and I decided I, I need something that... I need to be moving again. And, and the women that I have danced with in my lifetime, most of them are in Lexington, so I started getting back into dancing. And even though it was still hard to show up for friends because even... I was so burnt out and my resentment was so high that it was hard to take apart that they were good people and I wanted to spend time with them. They weren't what was causing- Right all of this burnout for me. Yeah. And so finally after, like, avoiding texts and doing everything, I, I got enough sleep. I thought I'd moved away from the burnout, and I jumped into Pilates and personal training. And it was amazing 'cause I was moving my body again. I was helping people. There was really what I thought no drama at the time, and I was helping people get in touch with feelings and everything that they hadn't really accessed because they hadn't moved in that way before. Mm-hmm. Um, but that just spiraled into another form of burnout, um, and overwhelm because I was moving into my own business, and then we have a pandemic. And not having had a business before, I was going through all the things that we do as entrepreneurs, which is, like, second-guess ourselves and spin out on different s- classes and all the things we have to learn. And finally I just was like, "What am I doing? Why, why is this so hard?" And I s- finally stepped back one, one Christmas really and just stopped. Yeah. I stopped doing everything. And it was great timing. It was Christmas. But it still... I felt like I was letting people down because I wasn't working and I wasn't figuring out something new to teach and I wasn't, you know, um- Yeah.

Tracie Root 9:46

You went from one burnout situation to a different burnout situation- Yeah without realizing 'cause they were so different from each other. Exactly. But your process internally was still the same. Yeah. Push, push, push, push, push. Absolutely.

SuperKate Slepicka 10:00

Yeah. And there's so many of us out there. I mean, it's... I, I th- I've heard it commonly referred to as high functioning burnout because you're just- Yeah yeah, y- you think, "I haven't"- You're in burnout,

Tracie Root 10:09

but you don't stop because you- Right don't realize that that's what it requires or you don't know how,

SuperKate Slepicka 10:14

for sure. Right. And y- you haven't actually, like, f- collapsed, right? Right. So it's not that bad. What do you mean I'm running out of time? Yeah. Just I'll, I'll just get sleep n- over the weekend. I didn't do the thing next week. It'll... And it just keeps getting pushed, and, and that the negative thoughts that a lot of us have that push that narrative of, "If I'm not doing this, then I'm not worthy," or, "I will never know enough, and I won't find the clients," or, I mean, I could go down a whole rabbit hole on those- Yeah th- you, you know those thoughts. Well, let me ask you- I'm sure your listeners know those thoughts.

Tracie Root 10:54

Yeah, we do. And so let me ask you, so, and you can use either, you know, your story, 'cause clearly you've lived it, but maybe it's more, like, people that you're working with.

SuperKate Slepicka 11:02

Yeah.

Tracie Root 11:03

That realization that you're doing it to yourself, and you're the only person that can get you out of this feeling, like, that is, that's the aha, and then all of a sudden the people around you don't understand what's going on because they're still in it. Or, or but really it's more about the identity shift, right? Yeah. Whether they're in it or not in it, you're changing because you finally realized that you're the problem. Yeah. Right? I'm hi- I'm the problem. Yeah. It's me, right? Yeah. So, so what, like, what, what was that like? Either what was that like for you, or, like, how are you helping women to, to recognize that they're their own problem and that the only solution is already inside them?

SuperKate Slepicka 11:52

Well, across the board it's, it's really been through creating space- Mm in their life somehow. Mm. And I'm not, like, I work with women who don't want to slow down, and I'm not advocating for slowing down. Yes, you could say this is, you know, six one-way half d- whatever. Like, you're... But understanding how to create space, whether it is while you're eating a meal and not- Mm-hmm having, um, your computer in front of you. Or what I have been really enjoying recently is driving without anything on.

Tracie Root 12:33

Mm.

SuperKate Slepicka 12:33

Mm-hmm. There's no music, there's no podcasts, and it's super creative. Like- It's an interesting

Tracie Root 12:39

experience, isn't it?

SuperKate Slepicka 12:40

Yeah. I- I- it, it was so hard to do and I, I mean, okay, I live in a small town, so most of the time maybe a 10-minute drive. But- Yeah,

Tracie Root 12:51

same around here this,

SuperKate Slepicka 12:53

yeah, this past week I have driven to the neighboring larger town s- seven times and I still have a few more to go. So it's 45 minutes away, and you, you get in that, "Oh, I have to listen to something. I have, I have to know something. Well, maybe music is better." And I love working emotional, like, release out with music, but sometimes it's really just sitting with whatever that feeling is, and why am I so anxious in this moment if I'm on- Why? Yeah. And allowing my body to feel anxious, because we keep running away from everything. Mm-hmm. So it's, it's just finding these small moments, and one, knowing that you're okay on the other side of it, that it is gonna probably feel pretty terrible in the five minutes or whatever you're allowing yourself to be in it, but there is a space on the other side- That you may not crave a 45-minute quiet ride like I have recently, but you're gonna start seeing that you can have that space.

Tracie Root 14:07

Yeah.

SuperKate Slepicka 14:08

Um. Well,

Tracie Root 14:09

people are definitely not gonna crave it if they can't even do five.

SuperKate Slepicka 14:13

Right.

Tracie Root 14:13

Right? Like, that's part of, I think that's part of the journey- Yeah to recognize that if it's uncomfortable, maybe there's something there to learn. Mm-hmm. And, you know, you start with five minutes, you start with 10 minutes, you go to 20 minutes. You know, 45 minutes feels like a really long time. Yeah. And, and honestly, I know exactly what happens. So if I go out- uh, below here is, like, my little patio, right? Mm-hmm. If I go outside and sit in sunshine, which makes me feel really great, I love the sunshine, and but I don't bring my phone with me, I'm like, "Oh, my phone's upstairs. Okay, that's okay. I'm gonna sit here anyway," and- Yeah just enjoy the sun, I- all of a sudden, I get really relaxed and maybe wanna take a nap. And- And I know what that is, though. It's not that I, uh, it's not that I'm bored. Yeah. It's

SuperKate Slepicka 15:05

that

Tracie Root 15:05

clearly my body needs to chill out and, like, dysregulate my nervous system just a little bit more. Yeah. And- Yeah and every time I do any kind of, um, if I'm on a, even on a Zoom, and people are like, "Okay, well, let's take a few deep breaths, get grounded before this talk," or whatever-

SuperKate Slepicka 15:23

Mm-hmm

Tracie Root 15:24

yawning immediately. Like, and I know- Yeah that that's w- I know what that is. I know that that is me not stopping, and then finally stopping.

SuperKate Slepicka 15:35

And- Yeah

Tracie Root 15:35

so I think that recognizing those moments and doing more of them instead of avoiding them is really changes things in your body, in your mindset, in how you work with people. Um- Yeah you know, if I'm anxious, not- anxious is not the word. If I'm, uh, like, irritated is the word- Mm-hmm I'm looking for, like, by my family or whatever, you know, if I just take a few deep breaths, I'm yawning, and I realize that the problem is not them. The problem is me. Yeah. And w- e- we-

SuperKate Slepicka 16:13

I I want your listeners, I want you, I want, I want the world to understand that there is nothing wrong with us.

Tracie Root 16:26

Absolutely. W- the systems- Yeah, when I say the problem is me- Yeah I don't mean I'm wrong. Right, yeah. I j- I- my, the problem is here, that- Yeah to address. Yeah.

SuperKate Slepicka 16:34

Yeah, and the systems that have put us into this place, it, I mean, there's countless that have created the moments that we have grown up in. Mm-hmm. And we have done the best that we can in each of those moments, and yes, we can choose to do differently, but beating us ourselves up for not doing differently so far, it's, um, I, I honor the fact that it is very hard to let go of that voice, and it is, it gets easier when you just allow yourself to have a few moments. One of my, like, so I, I have a lot of nature around me, um, as you do too, and I really have enjoyed just staring at, you know, whether it's deer in the yard or we have, currently have, like, a little groundhog that's growing up, and as, as terrible as they are, it's a little fuzzy one, and it's so cute to just- He's so cute sit at the window and watch it, like, munch on the clover outside. It's, so I love th- that we can have these quiet moments if we let ourselves, and focus not so much on not having thoughts, but give ourselves some kind of focus. So that's where the driving has been very interesting, because there's still technically something you're doing, um, but you don't have to add and multitask while you're doing it.

Tracie Root 18:04

Right.

SuperKate Slepicka 18:05

Yeah.

Tracie Root 18:06

Yeah. I, um, I, I wish I could remember. I was listening to a book once while I was driving- and they were talking, oh, yeah, I, I'm sure I could look this up, but I don't have the title off the top of my head, and it was talking about basically how multitasking is literally impossible. You cannot mult- like, it doesn't exist. Yeah. Even computers don't multitask. They just switch back and forth really fast, and that's how- Yeah our brains do too, right? So I'm driving in the car listening to this book, driving, and they're like, "You can't multitask," and I'm like looking around me going... And then he started talking about the things that are, like, subconscious versus conscious and all that. Right. Like, you know, the driving kind of falls into almost a subconscious thing- Right unless you have to be careful or whatever. But it was, it's interesting to remember that, um, that, I don't even remember why we were saying that, but you said something about, like, the consciousness of being, of not adding to it. That's what it was. Don't add more tasks- Yeah to what you're doing. Yeah. And allow yourself to just be in one place and do one thing, and maybe for the moment that's breathing.

SuperKate Slepicka 19:10

Yeah.

Tracie Root 19:11

Or talking to a person and being fully present instead of- Looking for my phone and doing all these things as we're talking, which- Yeah I try not to do.

SuperKate Slepicka 19:21

Or, or, um, having the response ready that- Oh, yeah you think they're gonna want, right? Or thinking about the groceries that we need to get because we can have that- I don't know why you say

Tracie Root 19:34

that. Yeah, absolutely. 100%. Right.

SuperKate Slepicka 19:39

The, it, we tend to, because of everything, society, everything, uh, conditioning, equate our pro- our productivity, uh, to our worth. Yeah. And so if we aren't doing anything, then we are unworthy. Yeah. But we get to, and it is gonna be hard to r- to turn this ship as we are currently going in the direction of, but we have the ability to rewrite stories and make the ship go in a different direction. Now, I'm not advocating that we should all just sit around and do nothing all day. I'm, there's more to evolution and we, we are all, we have purpose and we have, you know, passions and everything. But we made it this hard.

Tracie Root 20:33

We made

SuperKate Slepicka 20:34

it this hard on ourselves. We- And we're making

Tracie Root 20:36

it this hard today.

SuperKate Slepicka 20:37

Exactly. Exactly. So how can you give yourself a little bit of grace- Mm-hmm a, and a little bit of breath? Mm-hmm. Just because that- Yeah that will bring you into the present moment faster than anything.

Tracie Root 20:54

Yeah. 100, 100%. Yeah. So I love this. Um, you're, you know, you're preaching to the choir here- in this sense because that's- Yeah yeah, th- the idea that we get to... So, and don't get me wrong, when I say the problem is me, I have absolutely no negative self-talk around that. Like, that is- Awesome just where I am. Yeah. And like you said, the conditioning, the, the high achieving 57 years of my life. Yeah. Right? Or I should say, maybe I should say 50 years because, you know, those first couple years, there's nothing there. And these last couple years, things have changed, and so- Awesome you know, we're all on our journey. Um- Yeah but 50 years of conditioning is, is a lot.

SuperKate Slepicka 21:41

Yeah.

Tracie Root 21:42

And so- And- to recognize that it doesn't, like, we get to decide what we do next.

SuperKate Slepicka 21:48

Yeah. And I think that we are very lucky to be in a generation that does... I, it may be a little bit farther away than we keep thinking it is, but that we, we did actually grow up without cell phones. We grew up without internet. Right. We didn't have to have a podcast going while we're driving the car, eating our breakfast, and making notes about something on our phone. Uh, I mean, we have arrived at this point, yes, and what are we gonna do with it? Is this really, like, the life- Yeah that we wanna have? Yeah. I think

Tracie Root 22:29

you're so right about, like, there is the evolution part of it, right? Like, yes, that's not how we grew up. Is it wrong that that's where we are? Only if it makes you feel bad. Only if it- Right like, destroys you. Only if it-

SuperKate Slepicka 22:43

Mm-hmm

Tracie Root 22:43

it keeps you from the things that you actually love- Yeah which is, you know, the relationships in our lives and who we're becoming as a person and, and the, the good that we're doing in the world and all of those things. If we don't get to do all those things because we're so obsessed with the quadruple tasking, then that's why it's not good.

SuperKate Slepicka 23:06

Yeah. Exactly. That if

Tracie Root 23:07

our, if we're so mission driven and so, like, passionate about doing XYZ and, you know- I think what I'm trying to say is that it's also seasonal, right? Yeah. It may not be... It may be where we are now because we're so like, like I can't stop myself because I know it's gonna change the world or change this person's life or whatever. And maybe the season of that kind of push is slowing down and you get to make some space for yourself and make some space- Yeah for nature and the little, what was it, groundhog, the little groundhog guy outside. And you know, all of those things. It all comes down to we get to decide.

SuperKate Slepicka 23:53

Yeah. Yeah. And what if it is possible for you to still have the push and to still do all of the things you want to do while not filling your night with ruminating about tomorrow's to-do list or the conversation that you need to have with your partner because you got a little frustrated? And a- all of these little spaces that we fill- Mm-hmm with whether it's our own noise, which of course is contributed to by society, but like all of the noise that we are making- Mm-hmm and then all of the noise that we are consuming. I think that there is a po- there is a possible world where you can be the biggest high achiever and have quiet time and have like the relationships you want and the family you want. There are people out there who do that. Mm-hmm. A- I mean, they may have a bunch of people working for them, but they do that, they have people working for them because they understand what is required of them to get to- Yeah whatever the next level is, and they can only do that through having space around themselves in their head. So it is hard when you are on the lower, um, when you're sort of at the beginning stages- Yeah because you may not have the funds to do that, but there are other ways of creating that space. Um, but we just- Yeah, I

Tracie Root 25:31

totally agree

SuperKate Slepicka 25:31

are so frantic to... I mean, it's great. We, we wanna make change. We wanna do the thing. It's fantastic. Um, yeah. How can we do it- With some space With some intentionality Yeah.

Tracie Root 25:45

Yeah. Love that. I love it. Yeah. Well, so we are... So we're here in June of 2026 when we're recording this. Yeah. And it's gonna be out, you know, sometime soon. And what I wanna know is, like, so clearly you have this high achieving history, mentality. Are you still... Like, you're coaching, you're helping people with, like, feeling, getting all of this back for themselves. Yeah. Um, tell us, like, specifically, how are you working with clients? Like, describe your business so that we- so that people who are listening to this can really understand where you might fit in their lives.

SuperKate Slepicka 26:23

Yeah. So I believe in... I mean, I'm v- I'm entirely virtual, because that's the- that's how it works best for me right now. Yeah. Um, but I really want to connect with somebody deeply. So I, I do one-on-one work primarily. I still have group movement classes, which are fun and I get people sweating and everything like that, but I do love getting into the weeds with somebody when they are really trying to n- navigate how they can regulate their nervous system, how they can make better decisions and have more creativity because they are finally taking care of themselves physically and mentally. And so we get into the schedule, we get into the daily life, we get into who are you surrounding yourself with, and determining what is both inspiring you and what might be pulling you down a little bit, and that's okay. Because some of the things that pulled me down a few years ago do not have that power anymore. There's... Like, I have people in my life that I was really struggling with a few years ago, but I know where I'm at now, and because of my energetic change, the relationship with them is different, and some of them have even begun to change because of that, and it's really a, ugh, what a amazing, amazing m- gift to still have these people in my life. Um, but we- We can't really do as much work on a surface level as I would love to, 'cause that would make much faster change. But I want to get into your life and see all of the, all of the noise, and then we start determining how can we get some of that out, and also how that feels when that happens. Because ignoring the body through this process is... We can't do that. Yeah. Your body is very important, and it is sending you signals and has been for a long time, and you have been overriding them. Yeah. Um, I overrode them. Um, you, Tracie, have done that. So how do we learn to hear it again? Yeah. And so there's gonna be some small movement work that we're gonna do, some, you know, pretty easy breathwork. But it's just to get you to where you can start hearing and- Yeah feeling what it's trying to tell you, 'cause that is going to make a much bigger change for you moving forward when you can hear, "Oh, I can feel myself getting anxious about this." Mm-hmm. That means X. Or, "Oh, my body's anxious because I've been thinking this one thing over and over again. How can I change that thought?" And yeah.

Tracie Root 29:23

Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I had, um... So my experience probably 10, mm, 8, 10, I don't know. COVID, time change. Um, 10-ish years ago, I, I met someone who was like a somatic like- Yeah coach, right? This thing's probably similar to some of the same work that you do. And I met her and I was just like, "Um, yeah, I don't feel anything in my body. Like, I'm fully in my head all the time." Yeah. "There's nothing below the neck going on that recog- that I recognize on a regular basis." And I, I learn- I realized that and would notice it over time. Yeah, no, I'm still like all up here. It's all cerebral. I'm not like paying attention. And then of course menopause happens, COVID happens, and all of these things happen that you can't ignore things in your body, but you still don't really- Yeah relate them.

SuperKate Slepicka 30:22

Right.

Tracie Root 30:23

Um, and so I find that this is such a common, uh, common thing for high-achieving women, for those of us who are Gen X, that, you know, we didn't grow up paying attention to our bodies. We were all like drive all the time. And yeah, I believe that, I firmly believe that the work that you're doing really can change- Everyone, because- Thank you the noticing of, like, I remember, I remember very vividly the first time I had my first anxiety attack, panic attack. And, um, and I don't have them very often, but I remember just being like, "What is happening to me right now?" You know? Yeah. I was, I was out of town. It was something with my kids. I was very, like, freaked out. And, um, and I just remember that going, "Oh, like, my body is here with me, and this is, like, A, it's not fun, but B- Yeah this is a big message." And it really was the beginning of kind of recognizing that, oh, I'm not all... People used to tell me I was all br- all head and no heart, but really I was just all head and no body. Um- Mm-hmm and recognizing that, that that was kind of the, the turning point of, oh, this is what people have been talking about. This is something that I should maybe pay, not should, but that- Yeah paying attention to, you know, could be beneficial to me in the long run. In the short run it's not, it sucks. It's not beneficial at all in the short run. Yeah. But in the long run, this could really, you know, be remarkable. Um- Yeah so I'm really glad that you are doing this work with, with people, because the opportunity to have that shift is, it's so important. I feel like everyone needs to have that, that chance to recognize how they can, can change it for themselves.

SuperKate Slepicka 32:28

Yeah. Well, I wanna add that I've, I've been, like, a mover... I was a sports person from a very young age. Um, loved sports, always did sports, and then, um, I started dancing when I was 23, and that got me into a whole new part of my body. Mm-hmm. And there's been a lot... There's been... There, there are a lot of moments in my life where my intuition has absolutely guided me, and so you can argue, well, SuperKate, if you have intuition, then that means you were in touch with your body. I... No. No, there were plenty of things that I wasn't listening to. Mm. So I know plenty of women out there who go to workouts three times a week and, you know, do the cold plunges and whatever, but they are not listening to the nervous system. Yeah. And they... And that is a different set of, like, connection, physical connection skill that- I mean, we're kept from it at a young age because it helps us stay safe. It drives us to be around the people who are supposedly gonna help us grow up and, you know, live long lives and all of these things. So I say that to, like, yes, there... I've, I've become a much more head-driven person in the last six or seven years, and I have always been a mover. And so ten- to think that just because you are w- you're a head person, then you don't have a body connection, or just because you're a mover and you- Right work out, right, it doesn't matter. It's a different skill. And- Yeah and it- Yeah,

Tracie Root 34:12

and when I said I was all head, no body, I didn't mean that I didn't... Because I also danced, you know, all of that. Mm-hmm. There's, that's a whole different idea, and so people who go to the gym and you do all these things and you're in tune with the physicality of your body-

SuperKate Slepicka 34:25

Yeah but

Tracie Root 34:26

that's not what I was talking about, for sure. Yeah. I'm talking about the idea that we're just thinking our way through things-

SuperKate Slepicka 34:32

Yeah

Tracie Root 34:33

instead of being, like, head- Yep to toe, inside and out, all about it.

SuperKate Slepicka 34:39

Yeah.

Tracie Root 34:40

Yeah. Love it. I love it. What a f-

SuperKate Slepicka 34:42

fun thing to learn.

Tracie Root 34:43

Yeah. It's been amazing. Yeah. I re- highly recommend to everyone, right? Um, okay, my friend, well, we're about at our time. Yeah. And I wanna give you an opportunity to kinda, you know, we, we talked through some things, and I always try, although it didn't happen, try to say, you know, what was the bold decision that you made that changed everything? And w- but we did talk about it. We talked about you deciding to go from one burnout to the other burnout to not burning out anymore.

SuperKate Slepicka 35:12

Yeah. Yeah.

Tracie Root 35:13

Um, and so do you have any, like, final thoughts, like, that you want people to really know based on that decision that you made?

SuperKate Slepicka 35:23

You won't... Hmm. Okay. Nothing is... I mean, aside from nothing's wrong with you, you are worthy whether you are active or not. You are an amazing moment in this universe- Mm-hmm in this m- in... that we are experiencing together. And even when it gets tough, just being able to sit and exist, that is all you need to do. You don't have to solve anything. You don't have to jump into 50 more things. You can sit and just be in the moment, and that is absolutely enough. Um, it is I don't want to project po- toxic positivity. That's, it's more about just being in our presence because we only have this one short little life, this one impossible life, that it is great to watch the rain fall. It is great to watch the little groundhog. It is great to just be able to sit or to stare at the wall. This can be enough, and I, I totally understand that's gonna be difficult, and you got this, and I believe in you.

Tracie Root 36:51

Love that. I love that. I was imagining someone out there saying, "I don't understand how I can do that," right? Yeah. But that's why we need support and why we need people, amazing people in our lives to keep reminding you, or podcasts to, like, play that over and over. Listen to Kate's super beautiful- SuperKate voice. And, like, I was thinking, like, do you do hypnosis? 'Cause, like, your voice is j- I mean, we've talked about this already. Your voice is so great. Like, the idea of hearing you say that over and over, like, that's the kind of thing that ends up resonating right here- Yeah and really believing, like, helping us to believe that it's true.

SuperKate Slepicka 37:32

Yeah.

Tracie Root 37:32

Because we need to hear it more than once to know that- Yeah it's true. Um, coincidentally, I have up here on my window, I wrote many years ago, "I am worthy of the dreams I dream."

SuperKate Slepicka 37:44

Awesome. And then the

Tracie Root 37:44

second part is, "The world is waiting for me to show up today." Yeah. Right? So it goes right in line with, with what we've been talking about, and clearly this is why we are here talking today, because 10 years ago I wrote that on my window, and here we are and you're saying the same exact thing today. Look at us. I know, yay. Amazing. I'm so glad. I love this. All right, my darling, I'm so thrilled. Thank you so much for being with us today. We h- I have your bio and your links and all of that stuff. We're gonna put it all in the show notes, and I can't wait to get this episode out to the world. So thank you again for your time- and your beauty and your voice and your message. Um, I can't wait to get it to the world, so thank you again.

SuperKate Slepicka 38:27

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you.

Tracie Root 38:30

We'll talk soon.

Speaker 2 38:32

Thank you for listening to the Bold and Brilliant Podcast. I'm your host, Tracie Root, and I wanna invite you to check out the show notes, find out where you can connect with our guests, find out more about what I and the Gather community have to offer you, and be sure to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks so much