AP 015: Katharine Arnold Luce || Confronting External Pressures

"Don't waste time feeling inadequate . . . "

Katharine and I have been friends for 18 years. (Side note: Whoa. What scares me most about that fact is that we were 12 years old when we first chatted in band class. I swear I was just 12!)

After high school, Katharine left our small town of Farmington, UT and headed to the east coast to study music, theology, and art history. She attended a small private liberal arts college in Boston followed by Yale Divinity School. 

Yes, that Yale. 

Obviously, Katharine is a real smarty. But even she dealt with "imposter syndrome" in these high stress, achievement-oriented environments. For one, Katharine was not tailored for ivy league schools since birth like so many of her colleagues. Also, on top of struggling like she didn't measure up to both her external and internal standards, Katharine faced huge obstacles within her family, including a major spinal cord injury of her only sibling. 

Despite that, Katharine chose to shift her perspective on these really difficult times, and instead embraced them as something that would make her more resilient BECAUSE of what she was facing. Katharine found her own way! Now, she is in a career that melds all her interests together in a beautiful whole, one that is "Katharine" instead of what her external pressures told her she "should" be doing.

Oh, and you won't want to miss what Katharine shares about how perfectionism for her is interwoven with her people-pleasing nature, as well her antidote to combat it. (I love what she said SO, SO much about that! You classic "underachievers" or "procrastinators" will especially benefit.)

Show Notes

Katharine's Instagram

Photographer for Katharine's photo: Jess Smolinski, Yale University Art Gallery

Monica's Instagram, Facebook, and Contact page

More on "Do Something" here and here (includes a short podcast episode that explains the series)

More episodes from the podcast

Song Credit: "Sweet Promise" by Nicolai Heidlas

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices