We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Morley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
Burnout is something that I have lived with for years without realizing it. It became my standard. I thought to be considered a hard worker I had also to be physically and mentally exhausted. It’s only been since grad school that I’ve realized that I was doing myself a disservice by continually running on empty. Grad school taught me a lot, but one of the most powerful messages I received was that rest is vital. It is not something that is earned, something that I need to deserve for working hard enough to qualify for, but something necessary to create the art and conduct the research. For me, avoiding burnout starts with self-care. And I’m not talking about the occasional face mask while watching reality TV and eating a carb-heavy snack (although sometimes that is exactly what I need). My thesis research, which is about the disconnected bodymind, taught me that true self-care needs to have a holistic component for it to be fully nourishing. Taking a bath is a great way to relax and calm my aching joints and sore muscles, but if I’m also doing computer work and answering emails, I am not allowing myself to fully rest. Learning how to care for myself, and what that looks like for me personally, has helped me slowly ease myself out of burnout and find my creative spark again. Unlearning the idea that I need to give myself permission to rest and instead replace it with the novel concept that I can only do my best work when I am rested and fueled properly has completely changed my relationship with myself. Rest is no longer just a way to avoid burnout, but an integral part of my creative process.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a dance instructor at 2nd Street Studio of Dance, where I teach a variety of levels and styles of dance, from pre-ballet classes for toddlers to advanced contemporary classes for adults. I’m also a professional dancer for Diversiform Dance Project, which is a dance company focused on highlighting the diversity within the greater Detroit dance community. In addition, I am a co-manager at Tutus and Tendus, a Rochester Hills-based dance boutique that supplies local dancers with quality dancewear.
I have always loved teaching, and have taught at local studios for the last 10 years. In June of this year, I received my MFA in Dance from Saint Mary’s College of California, which will allow me to eventually transition from studio life to the academic world of dance. My end goal is to someday become a professor of dance, but this season in my life right now is focused on healing the grad-school burnout I’ve been experiencing for the last three years and focusing on what kind of professor I envision myself becoming.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Patience, patience, patience.
You need to have patience in the process, no matter where you are in the journey. Even things that are meant to be do not always go smoothly. The first grad school program I applied to rejected me, and I could have allowed that to be the end of my journey or a sign that I was on the wrong path. Instead, I regrouped and ended up finding a program that was a better fit for me than I could have imagined.
You need to have patience with yourself. There are going to be days where you feel on top of the world, and like you were made for this. You are also going to have days where nothing goes right, and you feel so undeserving of the opportunities you have. Be patient with yourself. You did not come on this journey because you already knew everything, but because you knew nothing, and were eager to learn. Give yourself the time and space you need, and be gentle with yourself. Growth is not easy, nor is it linear.
You need to have patience after you’ve ‘done it.’ This is where I am currently at in my personal growth journey. I have reached what I thought would be the finish line, I graduated with my MFA, only to discover that this is just one step of many. I am constantly reminding myself that rest, pause, and reflection are all a part of the journey. I may not feel that I am moving forward, especially compared to all the work I accomplished in the last three years, but that does not mean that this slower, more thoughtful phase I find myself in is not important. I know that being patient right now will be rewarding later. Like I said before, healing the burnout is necessary in order for me to do my best work, which is yet to come.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
The past 12 months have been transformational, in hindsight. This time last year I was struggling to finalize what I wanted my thesis research to be, worrying that I had just wasted years of my time in school and thousands of dollars in student loans because I didn’t feel like I was good enough. 12 months later I have the degree I worked so hard for, and I have pride in the work and research I produced. I never thought that I could feel so confident in the work I produced, and so excited and encouraged for future projects. I have learned that I am capable, I am worthy, and I am valuable, as a dancer, teacher, and a human.
Contact Info:
- Website: katemorleydance.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancingkatemo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-morley-652355231/
- Other: https://www.proquest.com/openview/1c53b8a1f8dae052734a4a76f5d60fa5/1.pdfpqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=yThesis
Image Credits
Quinn Kirby Photography Focal Life Photography
