“One of the things she values is the power of humor,” Sheinelle explained. “I took that to heart. So if I’m on the show and I’m having a good time, it’s because I’m giving myself permission to be present in the moment and have a great time. If I’m having a tough day, I give myself permission to have a tough day.”
Admittedly, it took some time for her to understand the importance of what she was doing.
“People kept saying, ‘You’re so strong, you’re so strong,'” she recalled. “So, I’m just trying to survive, you know? At first I was just trying to get out of bed. I was like, ‘I have to go to work. So I’m going to get out of bed and go to work.’
she continued. “It’s like when you’re doing what you feel like you’re supposed to do, someone else sees that as strength. And I’m thinking, ‘Am I? Oh, me? Am I strong? Oh, okay.'”
But Sheinelle says she’s ready to give credit where credit is due, considering everything she’s done in the past year, including publishing a book and co-hosting Today with Jenna & Sheinelle with Jenna Bush Hager.
“I’ve been busy celebrating everyone else’s strength, so to be honest, it’s only now that I thought, ‘You know what? Maybe I should celebrate my own strength,'” she said. “We’re not doing it for ourselves. But I’m finally starting to say, ‘You know what? I think I need to give myself credit here, because it hasn’t been easy.’
