Hi, Friend!
I'm Cate Blouke – your sometimes sassy, always tender-hearted host.
I’m a forty-something, white, cisgender, child-free by choice, queer (though I mostly end up dating cisgender dudes), tattooed, neurodivergent (ADHD & CPTSD inna house!), cat-owning, long-distance running, crafty (as in knitting), graduate school survivor, talented baker, former academic, home-owning resident of Portland, Oregon. Sometimes I perform improv comedy, too.
This podcast and blog is a byproduct of my 10+ years of therapy, EMDR, trauma work, mindfulness, 12-step recovery, online courses, individual and group coaching, hundreds of podcast episodes, and books and books and books and books of reading on self-improvement or neuroscience or spirituality or psychology. I also have a PhD in rhetoric, which means I’m really invested in the ways we use language and the stories we tell ourselves and each other.
I believe in love, joy, kindness, and not taking shit too seriously. I believe people are inherently good and doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
I believe that capitalism, the patriarchy, and white supremacy have really done a lot to fuck up the lives of all Americans, and that applies to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folx especially. I’m not an expert on social justice, and I bring a lot of privilege to the table. I try to be aware of all that and do what I can to learn and grow and make things better as best I can.
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About Settling Is Bullshit
Just a passion project growing into a dream come true!
Settling Is Bullshit started as a blog back in late 2022 – because I’d been writing shit professionally (i.e. for other people) for well over fifteen years and was getting tired of writing by other people’s rules. Some of it was wonderfully interesting (theater reviews), but much of it was dreadfully boring (SEO blog posts about software development). None of it was in my voice, and none of it was particularly vulnerable, or real, or at all sweary.
Then, I went through a pretty profound breakup and started looking at what the fuck I was really doing with my life (like ya do). I realized that I wasn’t, in fact, doing the things that mattered to me.
What I want to be doing with my life is helping other people believe in themselves while also staying true to myself. So, I took a whole bunch of training programs to become a life coach, and I started writing this blog to share about all the things I’m thinking and learning in that regard. And, when it comes to staying true to myself, my friends, I like to curse and to start sentences with conjunctions. So, here we are.
In April of 2024, I expanded into a podcast, and this has grown into a magical space for me to share openly, honestly, and in my own voice whatever insights or advice or emotional-healing-related concepts are up for me or my friends or clients at any given time. Someday, should the universe and my loyal readers will it, I’ll probably turn all of this into a book. But, one thing at a time.
Fulfillment Coaching for Smart and Sensitive Humans
I offer one-on-one coaching sessions for folks who want to live more authentic, balanced, creative, and fulfilled lives. My mission is to help you believe that you are both capable and worthy of achieving your dreams, and to provide the support and accountability you need to take meaningful action in that direction. You deserve joy. I’ll believe in the best in and for you, and I’ll gently push you when you need it.
Visit my Joywalking website to book a free chemistry conversation and start building your most awesome life.
What My Clients Say About Working with Me
