Them: “You’ve changed.”
Me: “No, I’ve just stopped camouflaging my pain, and closing my mouth, so that others would be comfortable.”
This is what it looks and feels like when you’re the SAME person, just moving differently.
Protecting your peace, your energy, your happiness. These are essential components of living a fulfilling life.
Very often in our lives, many of us at some point have found ourselves biting our tongue, smiling, remaining silent—all for the benefit of someone else’s comfort.
Can you relate?
Was it at work?
At home?
Both?
At some point, we all reach a boiling point when enough is enough.
To continue being inauthentic comes with significant consequences, especially to our mental and physical wellness.
I have come across several people in the past few years or so who likely feel I’ve changed. When in fact, I am the same Jacqueline.
However, at this phase of my life, accompanied by greater confidence, wisdom, financial freedom, and independence, the following have occurred:
-My tolerance for BS and fake people is literally nil.
-My voice is louder, uninhibited, and unapologetic. My ancestors sacrificed too much, my children are watching, and the legacy that I leave for their future children matters.
-I am reminded daily-If you don’t stand for something; you’ll fall for anything.
-I have had to remind many in my space that allyship is a verb. You can’t piss on me and attempt to convince me it’s raining. Words are nice, but actions matter more.
Code-switching, imposter syndrome, toxic people, and spaces can be taxing beyond comprehension. Self-care should not be negotiable. It took me nearly a half-century of living to truly understand that. Never forget, once your soul is for sale, everything else is on the table.
Now, as a certified life coach, I regularly remind and empower other like-minded women of such.
Own your power.
Celebrate your greatness. Bask in your natural-born gifts, inside and out
Self-care is not selfish.
It’s a MUST.
The bottom line is this- People who are unwilling to respect and accept you for who you are and what you represent are not your people and are not worthy of a front-row seat to your life. Period.