Embracing the Power Within: Self-Empowerment and Making History
Day 23 of our Iconic Women's Empowerment Series
Good morning, Icons,
I hope and pray everything is well with you and yours.
This is the last day of Black History Month, and we will move into Women’s History month and the end of our Women’s Empowerment Series.
We have been giving your empowering videos, helpful messages and an array of books to help empower you.
But ultimately, you have to empower yourself. Read more and make sure to subscribe today if you have not so you can keep up with the latest newsletters.
Embracing the Power Within: Self-Empowerment and Telling Your History
In 2006, I joined the United States Army. I wasn’t athletic and struggled with my weight my entire life.
I have had a crazy childhood with ups and downs with my size starting to increase as I went through puberty. I was very nice and talkative to others but deep down, I had low self-esteem due to my size during my early and late teen years.
When the recruiter suggested he could help me drop weight to qualify for the military, I actually still needed an “Overweight waiver” to get in.
I did make it. I got in. And for the next 5 years I struggled to maintain the Army’s standard body fat percentage and to keep my rank.
Luckily, I had an awesome set of leaders and people who just wanted to truly help me that never gave up on me. It was never easy, but I showed and put the work in.
When I got out in 2011, I was 4 months pregnant. (The ending of Breaking Fear is so great).
Every week for my checkups I loathed to get on the scale and once I ballooned passed the 200 mark my heart sank.
For the next decade, I tried everything. I ate Nutri-System, Keto, Portion Control and went to a place called Metabolic center that gave me a bunch of pills. I walked, swam (as best I could), signed up to different gyms and even went to the YMCA at one point.
There was Daily Burn fitness app, Taebo and Zumba group exercise. And my weight fluctuation over a decade.
In the middle of all this weight stuff, I had hormonal issues, ovarian cyst problem, fibroids, dietary things, cancer scares with abnormal cells, mental health meetings for PTSD, depression and anxiety which were more pills from that too.
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My health journey has been a long one. Even telling you all this, I know I forgot things like dealing with a Veterans Administration in different locations, filing for disability and it all being crazy.
In 2019, we had our daughter. I dealt with the worse childbirth experience of my life and had a c-section. I was stuck with needle to set an IV10 times, sent in for emergency surgery after having to push for help and the epidural for surgery missed twice. I think third time was final it and I was ready to pass out.
Yes, my weight today isn’t healthy.
Thank God this is not how my story ends.
Self-Empowerment
I have every excuse under the sun to give up on me. I am disabled, I am busy, I am a wife and mother. Too many reasons to just say I can’t do anything about my current situation. Yet, I promised myself in my Breaking Fear story that this low would never happen again. So, what do we do?
We continue to fight.
I may never see the weight I once was as a Non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, and it is okay to grieve that. What I did learn in those five years, is that I never gave up. I never gave up on me. I worked where and when I was told, I did what was expects and needed of me. When I felt like I didn’t want to or couldn’t anymore, I left the Army to its mission and went off to college for a degree in Business Administration.
Psalms 46:5 - God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
I did what was best for me. I am doing what is best for me.
I have tried and failed many times. I have made mistakes. I have loved and lost. I have heartaches and pains. But I’ve survived. I am no one’s victim.
Today is Day #1 (I say this to take one day at a time on my new journey) at the gym.
I am already starting to move forward. Are you?
Yes, those are pictures of me at the gym.
I have to be there for me. I have to want to live and be healthy for me first, then my family. And that means letting go of the old me and creating a new one.
What is your history? What does your past look like? Have you let her go?
Ladies, empowerment just doesn’t come from my books, others’ blogs or Tiktok. You must dig deep within. You must find your warrior and kick life in the balls to win.
You have the ability, that is why so much of the past few newsletters were about “self”.
At the end of the day, you have to want to win and put in the work to achieve it.
What is self-empowerment and what does it look like?
Self-empowerment means making a conscious decision to take charge of your destiny. It involves making positive choices, taking action to advance, and being confident in your ability to make and execute decisions. Self-empowered people understand their strengths and weaknesses and are motivated to learn and achieve. Self-Empowerment: 7 Ways to Empower Yourself | Maryville Online
Tips for self-empowerment include1234:
Develop a positive attitude
Set reasonable goals
Surround yourself with positive people
Practice self-care
Use positive self-talk
Be assertive
Create an action list
Make conscious choices that are in line with one’s personal values
Seek out mentorships to guide one’s personal growth
Take risks in order to feel empowered
Iconic Summary
It is time to make your own history.
My history isn’t all bad. I served in the 82nd Airborne Division receiving numerous awards even one from General Rodriguez who was base commander at the time, nominated for a Bronze Star Medal, and made rank while in.
I am a married Christian mother of 2, I homeschool, I crochet, and of course, own Iconic.
There is more to our stories than just the pain and hardships we go through. That is the fuel that drives us to win in life, love, marriage and family. And, ladies, you can win.
It is nice to look on those who have come before us and honor their contributions to society. Starting tomorrow, we will talk more about empowerment and those stories of women who stood on business doing what needed to be done.
Today is an extra day in February and we’d like to thank all of you who enjoyed some of our Black History Month stories on love, music, some heroes and yesterday’s podcast replay. History is 365 and you can celebrate it anytime you want.
What about you? Where does your story start? What is your God-given calling that hits in your stomach that only you are destined to fulfill?
Don’t let my story get you down. We all have something that we are doing and working on, and I am already all over it. Let’s encourage each other in the comments section and get ready to win, together.
You can do anything you put your mind to do. Just remember in all things you do, be Iconic.
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