I started to simply say "thank you" without following it up with something to put myself down. It was uncomfortable but repetition is the ingredient for healing. Just say, "thank you" and sit with the uncomfortable to ease into the comfortable.

For a long time, I struggled to receive good things, praise, opportunities, and even simple kindness. I was so used to working through challenges on my own that receiving felt unfamiliar, almost uncomfortable. Part of me believed I had to overprove myself to deserve anything positive. That shifted when I began building ZLIBS™ with my husband and expanding CBA Media Group™. I finally saw the impact of my work and the resilience behind my journey. I realized the good things coming to me weren't accidents. They were confirmations that I had earned my place. What helped me change was giving myself permission to slow down, acknowledge my accomplishments, and stop shrinking so others felt comfortable. Today, I receive fully and confidently, not because everything has been easy, but because I understand that blessings show up when you're aligned and ready. Receiving isn't about worthiness. It's about allowing yourself to grow into everything meant for you.

The Rejection That Changed Everything I still remember the weight of that email. The CDC PHAP Fellowship, a position that would have launched me into a traditional public health career path, was mine for the taking. My mentors celebrated. My family beamed with pride. But something inside me whispered: What if there's more? When I declined that fellowship to stay on the unconventional path as a Systems Strategy and Operations Consultant, three years later, I started my own firm, Intensity Health Solutions. The doubt wasn't just external. It was internal, gnawing, relentless. Who was I to believe I could build something better than what the CDC offered? Who turns down prestige for uncertainty? The Unworthiness That Follows Achievement Here's what nobody tells you about breaking barriers: every milestone can feel like borrowed time. As a Black woman in healthcare consulting, I'd watch contracts come through and think, "They'll realize they made a mistake." Revenue would increase 157% at AdventHealth, and I'd attribute it to timing, not talent. Training 1,800+ pharmacy staff at CVS Health felt like something anyone could have done. The impostor syndrome was suffocating. Each success felt like evidence that I'd somehow fooled people rather than proof that I belonged. The Turning Point My shift began in an unexpected place: the health ministry at Carter Tabernacle CME Church. Watching underserved community members receive health education and wellness resources, I noticed something profound. They struggled to accept help the same way I struggled to accept praise. We'd offer free health screenings, and people would ask, "What's the catch?" That's when it clicked. My unworthiness wasn't humility, it was a barrier preventing me from fully stepping into my purpose. What Changed Three practices transformed how I receive: Reframing Achievement as Stewardship: I stopped viewing my skills as something I had to earn the right to use and started seeing them as gifts I'm responsible for stewarding well. When I trained those 1,800+ pharmacy staff members across multiple specialty locations, that wasn't just checking boxes; that was my ability to translate complex systems into knowledge that transformed how people showed up for patients every day. Documenting the Evidence: I started keeping a "proof file" of every kind email, every successful outcome, every moment of impact. When doubt creeps in, I review the receipts. The data doesn't lie, even when my feelings do. Understanding That My Discomfort Doesn't Serve Others: The communities I serve through Intensity Health Solutions need me to show up fully, confidently, and unapologetically. My false humility wasn't protecting anyone; it was limiting what I could offer. The Work Continues Even now, as a DHA candidate running a certified women-owned healthcare consulting firm, I catch myself minimizing achievements. The difference is I recognize it faster and correct course quicker. When partnership opportunities arise with organizations like Flourish Research or Care Access, I no longer wonder if I deserve a seat at the table. I know my lived experience bridging health systems with community needs is exactly what these spaces require. For Those Still Learning To Receive If you're struggling to accept the good things, the promotion, the praise, the opportunity, ask yourself this: What would you tell your younger self who dreamed of being exactly where you are now? Would you tell her she's unworthy, or would you tell her to own every bit of it? Your accomplishments aren't accidents. Your opportunities aren't mistakes. And your presence in spaces that weren't built for you isn't luck, it's purpose, working exactly as it should. Sometimes the most radical act of faith is simply believing you deserve to be where your hard work has taken you.

Impostor syndrome is always something I've struggled with. I would have to say it started in my undergraduate studies in college. Everyone had told me I was too intellectually inadequate (they used less professionally proper verbiage and prose) to attend college. This remained with me even though I had earned every major award CSU's College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences presented, all the way through graduate school and into law school and now with my own business. I would be lying if I said that each success I fought and struggled for wasn't rooted in a sense of vengeance against those who said I would never be enough to measure up. I count the good things that happen, and I am thankful for them, but there's always a degree of bitterness.