We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Payne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, 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.
The key was stepping back to realize how blessed I am and how far I’ve come. I firmly believe that nothing is by coincidence, but it’s by your life’s lessons and purposes. Hard work and consistency come from wanting something grand out of life, to be fulfilled. However, if you have a poor self-concept, that is a disservice to yourself. I would always take pride in being smart, I always excelled but I didn’t recognize my own light.
Overthinking and being hard on myself would take a toll on my mental health and overshadow any accomplishments. I stopped telling myself that I wasn’t good enough. It took time to accept and embrace that I am deserving of all that I desire. There was hard work done to pour into me – to fill my own cup with kindness and assurance. I had to learn that it’s my birthright to live the life I am building.
You have to surround yourself with like-minded people on whatever journey you are currently on. My environment changed for the better. There is so much power in the tongue, so I started speaking positivity and good affirmations over myself. My entire perspective and outlook on who I am as a human being changed. It took some time, and now I take so much pride in my growth, this all led to me being in full alignment with my goals and dreams.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
By trade, I’m a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. We conduct research detecting and preventing infectious diseases and possible threats in different countries, including the United States and other continents. I lead health equity science projects in my division by investigating populations in geographical areas with little to no resources for access to healthcare, disease prevalence, mortality rates, and other aspects. It’s an interesting line of work, and I enjoy learning new things and being a part of ground-breaking science and research.
On the side, I am the founding scientist of my firm, Payne Sciences! It was established in 2022, so it’s fairly new, but I’ve been able to take all of my years and experience to grow clientele and engage more in the community. I’m a really good writer, so at Payne Sciences, that’s the bulk of the services. Scientific writing assistance from elementary to graduate or medical school levels. I’m qualified to serve on dissertation committees as well for those who are working on their doctorates. I consider my writing style to be creative because while I stick to the facts, I know how to draw in the reader or audience and keep them intrigued. I have a way with words that keeps your eyes glued and ready to see/read what’s next!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
A huge quality is gentleness. I had to give myself so much grace, take it easy, and be kind to myself. Little did I know, I played a big part in being my blockage and, I couldn’t be my best self. The gentleness made the work I did more enjoyable. I experienced more fulfillment in life, period.
Being a scientist, having the basic research skillset, like knowing the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Knowing when to apply a mixed-methods approach is necessary. You must know what something means, where it comes from, and why it happened. Having a keen eye has gotten me far in my education and career.
Last, the art of letting go is a skill that’s helped me. It’s easier said than done, but when you surrender and release, everything that is for you will come to you.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I’m a book fanatic, a bookworm. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is literally in my top 5! I recommend this book to a lot of people because it changed my life when I was going through so many rough patches. It has many insights on things we learned as a child, but when you don’t know how to apply those lessons, it won’t make sense to you.
It was a spiritual awakening moment for me. I read that book in two days. I felt relieved, positive, happy, joyous, self-love and truly accepted that the universe conspires to have my back. Seriously, life-changing!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.paynesciences.com
- Instagram: ayepayne_
Image Credits
@naturallyswish
@phacezphotography
@thekeilanscott
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
