We all know elections are important, from president to city council and school board. But have you ever heard anyone talk about running for office as self-care?

We hadn’t either — until today! This week on the pod, we were joined by two inspirational women: Jill Barkley Roy and Kate Barr. Jill is the Director of Emerge Action Fund, an organization that trains women to run for office. And Kate has been fighting against gerrymandering in North Carolina for years and now, she’s actually running for office as a Republican as a genius way to beat those unfair maps.

Not only did both Jill and Kate share what they’ve been doing to help women (including themselves) run for office, but they both said that the work they do is what helps them not lose their shit on a daily basis. 

Jill even said that after training 25 women to run for office at a recent Emerge bootcamp, she was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. That sounds a lot better than lying awake because of nightmares about ICE!

Kate, meanwhile, shared this wisdom that she first heard from a Tibetan monk about not spreading ourselves too thin. We should find our torch — the issue we care about most — and carry it in the direction we feel is right and true for as we're able. It's what she and Jill have both been doing for years.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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