Balancing Professional Challenges and Personal Growth with Shanna Swanson

Balancing Professional Challenges and Personal Growth with Shanna Swanson

In this episode, Erin welcomes Shanna Swanson, the founder of Northstar Consultants, to discuss her unique contributions to long term care. Shanna shares insights from her work analyzing regulatory compliance and addressing emergency preparedness for Leading Age Minnesota. She also delves into her efforts in easing staffing shortages by recruiting skilled international nurses. The conversation touches on overcoming burnout, tackling grief, and establishing boundaries, with an emphasis on self-awareness, energy management, and the importance of personal well-being. Shanna's rich background in nursing home administration and her holistic approach to leadership and healthcare add depth to the discussion.

In this podcast a YouTube video was referenced and here is the link for you to watch: https://youtu.be/HYXH2XUfhfo?si=ty6h9mqjXRHDKy-x

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:56 Shanna Swanson's Professional Background
02:42 Regulatory Changes and Emergency Preparedness
03:48 Addressing Staffing Shortages in Long Term Care
07:06 Personal Challenges and Professional Insights
19:54 The Importance of Self-Awareness and Boundaries
32:54 Energy Management and Healing
44:21 Conclusion and Contact Information

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Transcript

Erin: 0:35

It's Erin again with another episode where I am so happy that my new friend, Shanna Swanson said yes to come on to an episode of, this podcast for you. I think it's really important that we bring, perspectives from every angle inside this profession. And she has a lot. Of angles to add value to. And so thank you, Shanna, for being here, but let me give you the formal introduction. Shanna Swanson is the founder of Northstar Consultants, where currently she's working with Leading Age Minnesota, doing data analysis of regulatory compliance on emergency preparedness. And Which is fascinating, but even more fascinating, she's also working to ease staffing shortages in long term care communities by working with international recruiters to create opportunities for skilled Filipino nurses to come to the United States and fill some of these open RN positions in our long term care communities. So henceforth, why she has. A lot to offer to this conversation. So welcome, Shanna. Thank you for being here.

Shanna: 1:52

Thank you, Erin. I'm very thrilled and excited to be here.

Erin: 1:57

Yes. So there's a lot to digest here because data tells a story and I'm sure you have stories about the data, but also an, Solution oriented way, filling in much needed are in positions. So I'm going to let you take it because I have lots of questions, but I want you to talk about your stuff and I will dive in from there because it's fascinating to me. So

Shanna: 2:30

sure. Okay. So, just a little bit about my background. I am, I've been a nursing home administrator or. Executive director or campus administrator or assisted living director, or most region, recently a regional director of operations. So I've been in some form or capacity, in operations for skilled nursing and assisted living for my entire career, 20 plus years now. and most recently. Just launching a new business called North Star Consultant. I've been doing, I've been doing some consulting with LeadingAge. Looking at data analysis, the state of Minnesota went through massive regulatory changes in their, in a way assisted livings are regulated. And, governed a couple of years ago, shortly after COVID in August of 2021. So the whole state is navigating these complex new, laws, which basically combine housing with services and, home care services into one. One, something everyone in the state refers to affectionately as chapter 144 G of Minnesota statute. very exciting. So I've been spending a lot of time analyzing assisted living survey data because part of that regulatory change was the massive overhaul. To emergency preparedness rules, including the adoption of appendix V of the CMS state operations manual, which is historically been reserved for skilled nursing, but it was the Minnesota legislature adopted it to apply for assisted living. Providers two years ago, so we're still trying to figure that out and navigate that and then most recently and what I'm very excited about is helping. The intense staffing crisis our profession is facing, especially when it comes to finding registered nurses. And now more, importantly regarding CMS's new minimum staffing mandate, requiring 24 seven are in coverage, which theoretically sounds great, but in practicality in the operation speaking. It's, there's issues. So, that's what I'm doing right now.

Erin: 5:06

That's exciting.

Shanna: 5:08

I have

Erin: 5:09

never, there's always been a clear delineation between assisted living and in long term care. As far as I know in my state and even in other states, it's 2 completely different regs. And so it's interesting for a state to merge, you two entities, of the same overarching umbrella, but two entities into one, and I could see where it's a bit of a culture shock and it's going to take some time

Shanna: 5:37

and there's things that need to be reformed and revised. And, I think. It was a good intent under just like the minimum staffing, under the guise of consumer protection, which I'm wholeheartedly for, but also we need practicality and logistics are the if there are no nurses, there's no nurses. That means. Nursing homes are going to have to close. And that means loved ones might have to travel 60, 90, 3 hours to see their grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, aunt, uncle. anyway, I hope to,

Erin: 6:21

Yes, you are taking on two big topics, two big problems and being a solution to both, which is pretty inspiring. the idea that we can actually bring our ends from another country into our country, is a very intriguing thought process. And you and I have discussed before that they do speak English.

Shanna: 6:45

Yeah, so I it's a natural fit for me because I'm married a Filipino man.

Erin: 6:51

Yeah.

Shanna: 6:51

So my children thereby are Filipino. So it's fascinating and yes, Filipinos are a natural fit because well, a, they represent 25 percent of the nurses global workforce. So there's Filipino nurses working in the Middle East. And UK and Australia, Canada, all over, but unfortunately our immigration, rules are antiquated and needs to be revised and updated to help us as long term care providers keep our doors open and care for our aging demographics and population.

Erin: 7:36

yeah. you're the right one to do it. So I'm excited to watch you grow in that. We, we bonded over certain content, on LinkedIn, where we talk about some of the struggles and you mentioned your history, you were a regional director, then you were a licensed nursing home director, then, all the things. So you've worked a long time. And you felt the same pains that I felt, which, can we list them, probably not sleeping, high anxiety, always being on call, always being on call 24, seven, not even knowing if the thoughts you're thinking are right,

Shanna: 8:22

24, seven on call. yeah, not

Erin: 8:28

a lot of people talk about that. And I think, over the last 20 years, it wasn't really talked about the way that it is now a little bit, but the more that we can talk about the hard stuff, the easier that it is for people to understand that it's not just you and that maybe we can find ways to overcome them. So give us your story of what you wanted. Talk about and willing to share with us in how you achieved and then how you realized that maybe I was doing some things wrong and needed to reevaluate, the nervous system became too heavy. I couldn't slow it down. Or, I liked the phrase that you said drinking from a fire hose. that sounds fitting, especially from you for emergency preparedness.

Shanna: 9:22

I have a lot of empathy for executive directors, whether that's nursing home administrators or assisted living directors, and probably even more so directors of nursing, because we're always on call 24 seven. So even when you're not on call, you're always like, oh, for watching. I need my phone by me, or, oh, and especially, for me specifically, I had some life changes, that really impacted me that kind of impacted me. Precipitated with my mom passing away unexpectedly. I'm a Gen X er. so actually I'm on the cusp. My birthday was Wednesday. I turned 45, which is a side note to think about midpoints or midlife and aging in our conversations on recent aging, because I think we need to do a lot there, but that's another topic. but anyway, I am of the sandwich generation of caring for older, my parents that were aging and then, my two children that are in elementary school and then just life and the responsibility of helping oversee multiple buildings, on top of all these regulatory changes. And then, the extreme growth that I think a lot of assisted living companies are going through. so yeah, for me, I think that, it kicks things into high gear when my mom passed away and I didn't fully, acknowledge the grieving process. I don't think that we grieve well here. we see that in, in our, where we work in our communities that families just have a lot of trouble. with grief and anyway, it was funny because I thought like after my mom passed away, my brother, it was unexpectedly and I took a week off to do my grieving and I came back and I was like, Oh, I got this, like I'm going to continue on with my eye surgery because I've had glasses since kindergarten and I have to open a new building. So I'm going to do that. My kids have to be in all the activities. It's. Summer, and it was just like nonstop. I think the nature of our work is just very, a constant interruption of, I need this, or, there's always a sense of urgency because you can't plan when people are moving in or moving out or when there's, Mark report you have to make or anyway, so one of the chaplains widely wisely told me that There is no way around the grief you have to go through it and so I left my job in the fall and I took time to as They say and I was really like I know I didn't with it Going through and sitting in the grief and like sitting in it and dealing with it, which I was like, You can read that out. But, I also, I think that part of that is being compassion, like self compassion with yourself and realizing you can't do all the things, like I think many of us as women and as executive directors, You feel like we have to be like the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect TV, or at least that's maybe it was just me. But I realized that in talking to so many friends and colleagues and others, the connection, everyone is in the same boat. They just have a different version of things they have to deal with. So that's my story.

Erin: 13:11

Yeah, it's true though. I haven't lost my mother. But I've gone through other really painful, traumatic things and as people in healthcare and as people who deal with death all the time, It becomes something that you compartmentalize and you keep going because when you're inside a community or you're a regional director, you have potentially somebody passing away in your community. And you're walking down the hall and you're loving and hugging and thanking the family members for their experience with their loved one. And then you're moving somebody in and then you're getting a complaint that the soup was cold at lunchtime, and so like you have this. Robotic is a strong word, but very systematic routine that you have to do. Like you, you can't stay with the death of a resident very long because there are other residents who need you in various different forms. And so when you go through a life crisis, Like a death of a mother or other things. you don't know how to handle that. You don't know how to handle that and be still right. And so then what happens, you stuff it down. And then when you stuff it down, trauma responses start coming up, like mine is, I'm going to fight for my worth every chance I can get, I'm realizing like my own mother will just go, She'll just leave, everybody has a different response to those things. And that's why you do have to sit in it. I heard Tyler Perry say this, and it really struck a chord with me. And it was very similar to what the chaplain said to you, like grief waits for you until you get done running from it. You know what I mean? And then there's nothing you can do. And I think that. In some ways, grief played a huge role in my burnout as well. and clearly in yours too, you can only stuff down things so long and give to people in such a compassionate way that compassion fatigue sets in.

Shanna: 15:28

and also, I, of course, you don't realize it at the time. I think I said, you're not, you don't really, at least I didn't realize at the time that I had no, like my bucket was dry. My well was like empty. I was in severe drought and I was depressed, honestly, I was, I didn't know. and again, for me, I had a lot of. extraneous. the year before my mom passed away, we had lost a good friend at the age of 43 to colon cancer. And that was challenging because, got a front row seat to that. And it was our best friend. Um, I didn't realize that I had been dealing with all these super heavy topics and that I am a natural caregiver. I think like many people in this and yeah, you just take care of things and you like move on. And I think as an executive director, I was used to like fixing things and okay, move on and this you're right. You can't just fix and move on. There is no, one day, okay, I'm done. Funeral's over.

Erin: 16:44

Yeah, I think that you do expect that you as in not you, but as a collective view, like we expect the same and in some degree, and I've been honest with this. And I'll bring it up. we lost a child. My son was a twin and into some degree. I was able to do that. I lost something that I never really had, and now I have to have all my attention on this one so I can keep him alive. And that is how I compartmentalized one side and did this. And then there were other members of my family that did not have that skill and created a lot of journeys that I wasn't prepared for, And so it's you just put things in a box until eventually it grows. And you have to deal with it, And I think that's important for listeners to understand, like you have permission to be still and you have permission to feel it. And from both of our experiences, and I will say mine specifically, I can speak to mine. people figure it out without you, whether it's better or worse, that's none of my concern, but people will figure it out. And I think that we put so much on ourselves to think that we are so needed. We are needed. I can solve all these problems. I can solve them better than they can and all this kind of stuff. But they can figure it out.

Shanna: 18:36

And also I think that our, maybe it's just American culture, but like just the rush, produce more, more build, build, grow residents, advertise residents, let's get the next, I hate it this term head in the bed. Yeah. but I think the nature of the position, it's just, you can't take that away, like you. By the very nature of the role, especially in like in a regional role, you're not, a lot of days are fun. I love the fun days and like openings and the meet and greets, but a lot of the times are like, Oh crap, how are we going to figure this out? Like, the rat's nest that someone dropped on your lap at four 30 on a Friday afternoon. Okay. Let's, you know, I think that's our culture and I think that, also with, as I'm discovering midlife, it's a time to re evaluate your priorities. the first half of your life is truly about gaining skills, knowledge, education. And then I'm learning that, the second half of my life, I want to be really intentional about it. I don't want to be busy just for the sake of being busy and time is really precious. And especially with a mom of two children, one is about to go into middle school. there's just that. Much time. and I want to be able to be fully present and not worry about the 30 emails that are waiting for me after the kids go to bed or, I also think that if for those who are, again, I had a lot of, things, life events that happened in a short amount of time. But I think that for listeners who are burnt out, because I speak with my friends and colleagues, The first step is Mind as you point out mindset, but I would say even before that it's just being self awareness like I didn't realize that I had turned into this like I was wound so tight. I was like rushing my kids all the time. hurry up, get in the car, hurry up. We got to go to school. Hurry up. I got a meeting. Oh wait, I got to answer a phone call. Like I'm answering a phone call while I'm dropping the kids off while I'm trying to get a text message. And like multitasking is not how we were made. Like I thought that I was always a great multitask and I'm covering that. That's a bunch of really. You can't love that. You can switch from your attention from one to another, but you cannot do two things simultaneously. You just can't. And studies show that for those who disagree.

Erin: 21:35

No, it's true. The self awareness piece, like you said, the root cause analysis, look, I still find myself Getting anxious with the kids about something, and then I have to remind myself, you're in control, but even when I was in a community, this goes back into you said mindset, but there's boundaries, boundaries to me is another area, number two of the three big problems in senior living. It wasn't towards the end until I became more self aware, would I say I can't take any calls before 8 a. m. that are not true emergencies. that's just a boundary that I have to set because I don't want to yell at my kids in the morning, whereas before I became that self aware I was doing that, and that adds that third element of the top three problems in senior living negative energy, right? The mindset, the boundaries. And the energy, just in this conversation with being a parent and being an executive director, it is constantly feeling on constantly feeling like a failure because you can't do all the things at the same time and then trying to do them all And having so much negative energy wrapped into that, which is the nervous system problem, because you are yelling at your kids and now you feel bad about it because you didn't have a boundary and you're angry at yourself. You're not even really angry at them. They could have listened to better. Sure. But did I give them enough time to get ready? all these things, and it all comes down. Now it's back. We're back to the mindset piece because we're bullying ourselves. and it's the mindset, it's the boundaries, it's the energy. It's all those things that, that if we're not careful, we fall into the trap. But I really liked what you said before about how companies. Are trying to grow really fast and without the intention of realizing, can the company, can we do this, by growing so fast, we take away support to community level leaders now, all of a sudden regional level leaders. Are stuck in a mire of a myriad of problems. And then now all of a sudden that negative energy is trickling down too. I'm sure you have experience with that.

Shanna: 24:09

Yeah. again, I think it's the nature of the current state of long term care. I think that because of the enormous demographic shift, we need housing places to care for people, especially living communities. Not everyone is going to be able to stay home, till the day they die. so I think it is the nature of the community or of the profession. I think that also when it comes to boundaries, you know, being self aware because many people don't even know that they're not self aware. Like you have to have the awareness to know that about self awareness. But also at least I tried because I think, respectfully as caregivers, we think, and this is what you came back to the need to be needed and we want to train our teens. And this kind of comes back to the leadership on the submarine video that I shared with you just before the call that we want to train our teens that who are closest to the work, who maybe know the solution better than. Us to feel safe and comfortable in coming up with solutions. I also think that, for me, a big one was the difference between empathy and compassion. I, I'm a natural empath, so I really am pick up on other people's feelings and I didn't really realize that until I wasn't self aware. but really, I think having a boundary like I don't need to feel what they're feeling, I can have compassion for me personally. I can have compassion for them, but I don't need to be in it with them. so having those really clear boundaries really protects you, from your bucket leaking. In, ways that you're not aware of.

Erin: 26:19

Yeah. It's the, it's observing instead of absorbing. And I think I'm a natural empath too. And I grew up thinking that I had to fix everything. And when you have that skill and you've been doing it your entire life, it is the awareness of knowing, no, it's not my responsibility. I can observe it. But I do not need to absorb it, or I start doing things for people because I don't want them to feel a certain way, which is an assumption on my part. And now all of a sudden I'm working. And now all of

Shanna: 26:58

a sudden you're codependent without even realizing it.

Erin: 27:01

Yes. So I'm enabling somebody. This is what I learned that was critical piece for me. And it is always going to be a work in progress for me. Is it. I am strong enough to carry the burden of a lot. Had a lifetime of proof of that. And so because I don't want somebody to feel the way that I did, I'm going to work harder to solve problems so they don't have to deal with the frustration, which then puts no boundaries on me, enables them to continue to stay the same and not grow, and then I create resentments because they're not growing. There it is. There's burnout right there because I'm angry here and I'm not communicating it here and because I'm one carrying the load because it's the only thing that I know how to do and I've been successful doing it. So why change it now?

Shanna: 27:57

and again, as a leader, we're natural fix it, right? Like naturally, we just want to fix things and move on so we can deal with the next thing that needs to be fixed. So it's only natural to want to, help and fix it. but in doing so, yeah, being very mindful of, am I really, and why am I doing this? Is it really for me? Is it worth it? Is it worth my time or energy? It doesn't even matter.

Erin: 28:28

Is it worth it? Yes. Or are you doing it for

Shanna: 28:31

the sake of being busy?

Erin: 28:33

Yeah. I, yes. I had conversations with people and this is how I realized that I was in the wrong. I started. first of all, I want to say this, there's a sword and success and people pleasing and being a fixer, there's two sides of the coin here. There's a superhero and then there's a martyr and it really depends on the mood for the day, whether that person's going to be the superhero or the martyr. And when you really spend time and you talk to people, senior living leaders. you can figure out who the superhero is and who the martyr is, but it is guaranteed that the superhero feels, is martyring themselves on the inside because they want to feel important and they want to feel needed and because that feels and soothes a wound inside of them. Guaranteed, that's what's happening. I've talked to too many people to not know that it, that is evidence informed. Reporting right there. like you said, we have to ask ourselves, why am I doing this? And we're going to link this video. I will link this video in the show notes, but she shared with me how to be a leader on a submarine, Two things that really jumped out on me that I knew that we were going to be on this topic was you don't want to be the best problem solver on the team because then you'll never be able to go home and eat. And yes, that's true. That's why we want to multiply leaders. Instead of ad followers, right? Because what we're talking about here, mindset, boundaries, and energy. If you can train people how to solve the problems, you have more time on your hands, but you have to be okay with not being needed all the time.

Shanna: 30:33

And I think that kind of fits into your last, the whole energy discussion. And why we do the things we do, are we doing it for ego or, because so and so didn't call me and inform me of this and that, is it because of ego and we need this sense of control or is it because, I don't know, what's the true

Erin: 30:54

motivation? Yes, because if you were to have trained them and educated them on now that you know this information, what's the next step, then they can go ahead and implement the next step. I think it was a big deal for me to relinquish in the state of Alabama. In every state, there's self reporting guidelines, right? But there was a time where I was reporting all the state reportables. And there was logical and regulatory reasons why I was doing that. And there were control issues as to why I was doing that. Okay. We'll just make that clear. But then I wanted to go home and eat dinner or I wanted to not be bothered. And I had people that I could trust and I had to relinquish the control and just know that it was done. I just need to know that it was sent me the email that it was sent and we'll do the investigation together. You get the first draft and I'll read it. Okay. So I relinquished control. I had dinner. and the state reportable was sent, So you got to get to that point.

Shanna: 32:05

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard. there's a lot of, there's at least, there's ways to write those reportables and ways, you know, write them differently. And sometimes we can be very particular in how we want to say things, but yeah, I think, trust. is huge and competent in developing relationships and connections and growing your team. and As the video points out, the people that are closest to the work probably have the most solutions because they know the issues the best. So I, I'm a strong believer when I, through my years of being an executive director, I always lock the floors because that's where the real, where you learn, like what's happening on the streets, like the real, like rumors and the gossip and what's really going on. And you can see, the short cuts and. The amazing things too, and you get to know families and residents and I think developing a sense of community is really important.

Erin: 33:15

Yeah, if you don't have that, you'll never get to go home to eat.

Shanna: 33:18

Yeah, you're gonna get stuck there, picking up shifts and filling in during this crazy staffing shortage we have.

Erin: 33:28

yes. you have a unique ability to talk about energy, which we've done a little bit, but you have a depth to you about energy that's pretty impressive, that you haven't given much air time to, that, we have a little bit of time left. Energy is a big element in burnout, and the way that we think about ourselves, the boundaries, the energy that we give to not protect, the energy we give to protect, all these things. But, tell us about why you're uniquely qualified to talk about energy, and then give us a few tips on how you've used energy to heal.

Shanna: 34:12

Yeah. for a really long time, I didn't talk about energy or energy healing because it, even I think. One of the first, my first male bosses were like, Oh, that voodoo, it just seems like very, I thought people wouldn't take me seriously, or it just discredited me professionally. So I compartmentalized. And so when I was a nursing home administrator, I, in the evenings went to graduate school for four years and also got a master's degree in holistic health studies. And I learned a lot about, basically, every culture has a way, a term to describe energy, whether it's life force, qi, prana, qi, and it's all like ancient wisdom that I think in our medical model of That's very focused on curing and fixing. we could learn a lot from that. And when I was, in my kind of recovery of, burnout, and sitting and figuring out what do I want to do with my life, One of the things I would strongly recommend for someone who's facing burnout is a coach because then they can like someone with who's not so close to it can like zoom out and give you a big perspective. But anyway, one of the things she suggested was like, what are the things I like that I used to do? And I trained as a martial artist for nine years and, martial arts comes from, Eastern tradition and very much tied to that is. Energy, and energy healing and directing your own energy and your opponent's energy. And I started practicing Tai Chi again, and Qigong, and I think I had shared with you during one of our calls, like I could literally feel my nervous system just regulating this. It's hard to describe in a Western American Americanized language what energy is, but energy is, like the bioelectromagnetic field. some people describe them as chakras, when someone, if you go to acupuncture meridians are like little highways of chi. So when they're putting, a needle and they're actually harnessing. Or, camping down in the chief or the energy in that area. So anyway, it's this fascinating, area that impacts all of our lives. And I think that, when you talk about the martyr or the hero, that's really about your energy and moving from martyr, which would be a victim mindset. And, in chakra languages, like a lower level of energy, which is really more about like, security and fear and whatnot, and then moving up to higher vibrations and, being mindful of. The energy that you put out is 99 percent of the energy that you give back. That's why, yes, going negative might be cathartic, but really it doesn't do anything for you in the long run. And there's other ways to help release the, catharticism someone may need after burnout or, after a hard day. I hope I explained what energy is, or did I make it more confusing?

Erin: 37:54

no, I think that's good. when you think about venting, when you think about, all the victim mentality, that is a very low energy, and it is cathartic to get it out, but it's not, Productive

Shanna: 38:11

or healthy,

Erin: 38:12

right. Or healthy, or you get it out and then you start doing something productive. sometimes you just have to get it out. And so you can do something productive. I can see that. One of the things I found was a sawzall chopping down trees, got a little negative energy out, like mindfulness is not. A woo term, although some people would think it is and I certainly there were phases in my life where I thought it was Okay, but mindfulness is knowing I have too much negative energy inside right now, too much, something is off balance. And then the opposite of that is knowing what does give you energy, right? And so when we walk through and you correct me if I'm wrong, but when we walk through that negative energy without replenishing it with positive energy, we just stay in the negative energy, which then causes negative thought processes and negative reactions and all these things. Okay. Whereas if you're mindful enough to know, going to the spa, paying the 200 or whatever is probably worth it. So you can sit in silence, get a massage, and then just sit with your thoughts quiet to where you can figure it out. Or going into the garden, or chopping down, branches, or doing Tai Chi. Something to get it out. I used to think that I couldn't have hobbies. Because I would be interrupted all the time. that's a bunch of negative energy. That was me not creating a boundary. That was me telling me, no, that was me. Not

Shanna: 39:54

aggressive. Yes.

Erin: 39:56

Yes. There was a lot of negative energy in that. And where now I know that's what I probably needed the entire time.

Shanna: 40:03

I think that it's so simple, but if you need to refill your bucket, just go back to what brings you joy, So is it gardening? Is it doing Tai Chi? Is it doing, having coffee with girlfriends? Going to a spa. and I think having self compassion, yes, this is hard. Yes. I'm, my martial arts teacher used to say, when in hell, the last thing you want to do is sit down and ruminate in it. So pull up your big girl panties and put one foot in front of the other and, creep your way out of it. And I think for me personally, I, I'm a natural extrovert, and I get a lot of joy and energy and meeting new people and connecting on a real level. and I think that, reaching out to old, like I, I kind of joke, I went on like a mini eat, pray, love, like in Julia Roberts, not read, I just stopped in Minnesota, Wisconsin, but I reached out to old college friends, old high school friends, my old mentors and colleagues, and I just started connecting and remembering lost friendships and, I think we're so busy in this stage of our lives that we're raising our families and we're working that you forget about friends and having friends and hobbies and things we actually like to do. and through those connections, I'm just making so many like new friends and it's such, an exciting place to be. And I'm so grateful. Renee Brown talks about. there's this like infinity loop of gratitude and joy, the more gratitude you practice, the more joy, it just brings you. And I believe that to be true, which all comes back to, mindset, boundaries and energy.

Erin: 42:08

Yeah, that is very evidence informed. Because it took me a while to be more gratitude centered in life than experience and negative centered. And Brene also talks about, or other people talk about, you get what you focus on, right? Your brain literally will recognize what you focus on. And so for a long time, I was looking for ways that made me believe that reinforced the idea that I wasn't enough, that I wasn't gonna, advance or, all these things that my mind told me. But literally, just like you said, when you shift. I don't care anymore. Maybe I'm not enough yet. Maybe I'm not. So what do I need to do to get there? I'm thankful for everything in my life. It all happened for a reason. I'm going to be where I need to be, when I need to be there. And that shift alone has created a new life for me. And that is, The energy it's the energy. It's now all of a sudden I attract people like you in my life, and other people and the same thing for you, and it's just, if we could tell anybody inside the community, I think that's the secret, find that, find the gratitude in it, focus on the people that did come to work today and not the one person that didn't.

Shanna: 43:44

And I would also say too, I think so much, as leaders, we like focus on the individual instead of forgetting the process. so did we not set this person up for success it's not so ego driven and it gives people the benefit of the doubt because you don't know, like what's happening. I think, especially with our floor staff who, you probably know this, like they have their own traumas and dramas they're dealing with and sometimes work is an escape for them. Yeah.

Erin: 44:16

Yeah. I feel like we solved a lot of problems, or at least we gave people steps. Yeah. Things to think about. I think that, I think the goal of every episode is to give people seeds planted in their mind to make them more mindful and aware from people who were not mindful and aware, or who may have lost their way, who once was mindful and aware. we're all crying. Yes, we're all trying. So yes, I appreciate you, stepping, stepping out and sitting down and having a conversation with me. I think that you are on a path to do really great things and making an impact in Minnesota and hopefully beyond, and impacting people's lives. Both international and nationally, which is exciting. So if people wanted to reach out to you, how do you suggest they do that?

Shanna: 45:18

I'm in process of making a website. So right now, probably the best way is just via LinkedIn. I have my contact info, either send a message or I have my contact info. It's available on there as well. Yeah,

Erin: 45:33

absolutely. thank you for your time today. It was very valuable and don't hide what makes you authentically you. Talk about energy, And thank you for sharing those vulnerable stories, because when you share it, I share it and then other people can be seen too. So, as always for my listeners, aspire for more for you.