Let The Healing Continue
Dr. Cheryl Wood
As a parent how is race and current events impacting your family and how are you handling it?
As the mother of two young Black boys (12-years old and 13-years old) and one Black daughter (16-years old), with the current racial unrest, I’ve had to have some difficult, repeat conversations with my children to remind them that the world will not love them, respect them, and honor them like I do simply because of their skin color. I find myself trying to explain why the world views them as a threat just because they’re Black. When I talk to my children about this topic, I don’t sugar-coat it. I tell them the raw, authentic truth but remind them that they come from royalty and are not less than just because the world tries to deem them as such. As angry as this topic makes me personally as a parent, I also include topics such as grace, love, kindness, and forgiveness in my conversations with my children. And I remind them to use the power of their Voice & their Vote to create change!
In light of the recent events impacting our nation, what advice would you give to people in order to help them navigate the uncertainty?
I encourage you to consistently monitor and master your mindset. To monitor your mindset means you intentionally check-in with yourself and make sure that what you’re thinking matches how you want to feel, what you want to experience, and what you actually want to achieve. Grant yourself permission to operate in a peak state in spite of current world affairs and all the uncertainty looming around you. Laser focus on positive thinking and positive actions everyday perhaps through prayer or meditation, listening to inspirational/motivational videos and podcasts that uplift your spirit, spending time with family and friends engaging in happiness and laughter (even if it’s through virtual platforms right now), and starting a gratitude journal to acknowledge what you value and appreciate now in the face of all the uncertainty.
Please share one or two available resources that can help people right now.
Fill and fuel your mind with all things positive. Here are two of my favorite books:
Book #1: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Book #2: Grace Not Perfection by Emily Ley
What is your personal mission in life?
My personal mission in life is to empower women globally to recognize their ability to take control of their present reality and define their future possibilities. I want women to know that they never have to feel stuck and without options at any season in their lives especially if they are unhappy or unfulfilled. They have the right to give themselves permission to shift in a new direction, to change their narrative, and to set new expectations for themselves.
What is one of the biggest challenges you have overcome?
When I first started on my success journey, I struggled with toxic self-talk and accepting the negative belief system of others. I questioned whether or not I was “qualified” to be a leader who could impact the lives of others. I allowed my poverty-filled background, my lack of a college degree, and all the things society said about what it takes to be successful – all the things I was lacking – to cloud out the truth that I was already pre-approved and pre-validated to succeed by a higher source. I focused too much of my energy on what I was lacking instead of what I had that would support my success. I had to learn to stop talking myself out of my own God-given greatness!
What was one action that helped you overcome this challenge?
I became increasingly intentional day-by-day about objecting to my own toxic self-talk. Whenever I caught myself falling into my old patterns of language that reflected fear, scarcity, lack and negativity, I began disconnecting that conversation and replacing the toxic words with empowering words. I created powerful mantras and affirmations to reaffirm that I could succeed at anything I put my mind to. One of my most repeated mantras on my journey to success was: I am capable! I am worthy! I am enough!… Just as I am!!!
How do you define leadership?
Leadership is a willingness to go to the front of the room and bring as many people with you as possible. It’s a commitment to build an inspiring vision, set new direction, and inspire and influence others to commit to the same vision and to discover their own potential in the process.
What advice would you give to someone that is ashamed to share their story?
I challenge you to work diligently at turning all the hurt you’re hoarding into a blueprint for somebody else’s healing. Reflect on all the lessons you learned and the characteristics you developed from everything you experienced. Then, stand ON the power of your story instead of hiding IN the shame of your story. That means speaking up boldly about your story with transparency and vulnerability. Remind yourself daily, “My story is ABOUT me but it ain’t FOR me.” Just think about it – you broke through the very things that were meant to break you down which means you now have the answer to someone else’s pain. All the hurt, drama, trauma, turmoil, and pain you experienced, only carries weight when you’re wiling to use it to help someone else... otherwise, it just becomes “something you went through”.
How can people reach you?
SOCIAL MEDIA: @CherylEmpowers (IG, FB, LI, Twitter, YouTube)
WEBSITE: www.CherylEmpowers.com
PODCAST: Elevation Entourage Podcast (launches June 1, 2020)
Dr. Cheryl Wood Bio
Dr. Cheryl Wood is an international empowerment speaker, 11x best-selling author, leadership expert, and master speaker development coach for women. She teaches women leaders how to unleash the power of their voice and stand on the power of their story. Dr. Wood has trained women leaders across the U.S. and abroad in South Africa, India, France, United Kingdom, Canada and Bahamas. She passionately empowers women leaders to get out of their comfort zone, courageously pursue their big dreams, and create a living legacy.
Dr. Wood has been featured on ABC, Radio One, Huffington Post, Rolling Out, Forbes Magazine, ESSENCE, Black Enterprise, Speakers Magazine, Courageous Woman Magazine, Good Morning Washington, Fox 5 News, Fox 45 News, The Washington Informer, The Baltimore Times, Afro-American Newspaper, and numerous other media outlets. She has delivered keynote presentations for a host of large and small organizations including NASA, the FBI, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture, The United Nations, Verizon, Federally Employed Women, Blacks In Government, National Association of Legal Professionals, Women’s Council of Realtors, Women in eDiscovery, PR News and the Congressional Black Caucus, to name a few.