Meet Latoya Braswell

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Latoya Braswell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Latoya, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Overcoming imposter syndrome oftern involves a combination of self-reflection, seeking support, and validating one’s own experiences and achievements. While I do not have specific strategies in how I overcame imposter syndrome, I do know that the first step I took was to acknowledge and understand how I was feeling while I was in my situation. I had to recognize that there was this overwhelming feeling of self-doubt after I experienced the trauma of abuse. I spent many years suppressing what I had experienced because I thought that if people knew about my past they would judge me and not accept who I was striving to be. This caused me to live as an imposter. It wasnt until I decided to be vulnerable and tell my story that I began to break the foundation of the imposter that held me captive. The more I told my story the more free I felt. As I embarked on my journey of healing and self- acceptance I was able to inspire others to confront their own doubts and affirm their worth.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back at my journey as outlined in my book, three qualites, skills, or areas of knowledge that had an impact on my journey was reslience, self-awarness and communication skills. I had to develop the ability to persevere through challenging times from the abusive relationship to the cult involvement from the church. This resilece made me want to seek a better life and confront my adversity. Becoming self-aware played an important factor in me understanding my experience and not being ashamed of it, it helped me to recognize unhealthy patterns and people in my life . It also helped me to gain the power and the strength to make informed decisions about my future. Self-awareness was essetial for my healing process and establishing healthier relationships. Communication is key. For a long time I felt like I did not have a voice or a say in my very own life. The ability to express my thoughts, feelings and experiences effectively, both in writing and verbally has been crucial for my growth and development. Communicating the heart of God to others through his word has been life changing. Not only has it helped me but it has been a way to connect with others, seek support and raise awarnesss about my experience in relationship and in the church as well.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

In the past 12 months my biggest area of growth and improvement has been in responding to overwhleming situations rather than reacting to them. Ive learned that responding takes time to process what is before you, it takes time to look at the situatiion from multiple lens and acutually play all scenarios out . Responding gives you a chance to come up with the best solution to the problem. Reacting is emotion driven it is almost “knee-jerk” it is usually not the best solution in fact it is not a solution at all . It actually perpetuatues the problem. It has not been easy to get to this point of realization but I prayed and asked God to help me in this area of my life. I am making great strides and finding myself stronger emotionally as I take time to respond rather than react to various situations.

Image Credits

Xzavier Vozo
Corey Braswell