We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamika Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamika below.
Jamika, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
How did I overcome imposter syndrome? As I sit here, sipping on some positive energy tea, I asked myself, “did I really overcome the imposter syndrome?” When I think about the meaning of the word overcome, which is to succeed in dealing with (a problem or difficulty) it triggered me to think about the word succeed, which means to achieve the desired aim or result. So, I asked myself, have I achieved my desired results in dealing with the toxic emotion “imposter syndrome?” Let me just say, with some much-needed therapy, a daily self-reflection routine and from time to time some self-care activities (need to do more self-care) I’ve learned how to manage the emotion well. How do I manage her, you ask? Well, let me share.
Jamika’s 6 steps on managing the toxic emotion “imposter syndrome”:
- Acknowledgement (see it for what it is): I had to own the fact that from time to time I would allow the imposter to sneak up on me, leaving me feeling worthless and like a fraud. So first I had to acknowledge the truth, and that was the “imposter syndrome” was a problem in my life.
- Feel it (attach a feeling to it): When the “imposter syndrome” showed its ugly head, a practical technique I learned was to intentionally attach a feeling to the emotion. For example, after a work related or social event, I would sometime leave feeling inferior, or unaccomplished, which lead to me feeling sad and eventually becoming angry with myself.
- Rest in it: Now, this was the hardest step for me, I had to learn how to rest in my feelings. Most people do not like to feel uncomfortable including myself, my moto was “K.I.M it” (keep it moving) I just didn’t have the time to deal with my feelings because I had so much on my plate. But again, after some much-needed therapy, I am now able to gracefully rest uncomfortably in my feelings for small moments at a time.
- Release it: As I grow and learn more about who I am, it’s clear to me now that feelings are the language of the body and how I feel creates my state of being. So, I began to incorporate quarterly releasing rituals in my routine in order to let go of those undesired feelings. Let me tell you though, at the beginning I might have had a burning ritual about every two weeks, my toilet, back yard, and Lake Michigan have had their shares of ashes from my unwanted feelings and bad patterns of behavior.
- Give it a name: I am a creative; I think in pictures, and I also process things differently, so in my healing process attaching a name to my negative emotions/feelings was so helpful. Now, when the “imposter syndrome” decides she wants to make herself known in different situations, I know now to address her by her name. For example, I know that I know that, I know, I am creative, I am confident, full of vision and disciplined in every area of my life(my morning affirmation). But unfortunately, from time to time my old patterns of behavior would challenge what I know to be true for myself. When I find myself about to digress back into my old patterns of behavior I say, “Peaches!” Today is not the day.” “I got shit to do and you not gone mess this up for me” (in my Tiffany Haddish voice.)
- Keep them emotions/feelings in check: Over the years I learned how to compartmentalize my emotions/feelings. One of my daily affirmations is, “I Am the master of my Fate and Captain of my Soul because I have the Power to Control my thoughts” (Think and Grow Rich). I also love this quote, “Thoughts is the language of the brain, feeling is the language of the body, and how we think and how we feel creates our state of being.
How did I “overcome” imposter syndrome? I am still doing the work. This is my lifelong journey.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Who so is Jamika Smith? I would love to first share with the readers that I am a Child of God, knowing and believing this is my foundation. On top of that I am the best wife and mother I can be, far from perfect, but every day I wake up in the morning and say, “Thank you God! Today is going to be a great day and I pray your Will is done.” Next, I try to be the best person I can be in my personal and business relationships.
On top of that I am the Founder/Executive Director of Teena’s Legacy and the CEO of Affirm My Design. Teena’s Legacy is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit agency that provides a valuable trade of re-upholstering furniture, promoting economic transformation along with practical tools, and life skills encouraging self-discovery. Affirm My Design is a custom, retail upholstery shop providing services to both residential and commercial customers in the Northwest Indiana Region and Chicagoland area. Affirm My Design (AMD) is a natural outgrowth and extension of its parent organization, Teena’s Legacy, which provides job training in diverse areas, including business development, mental wellness assistance, and social-emotional support to unemployed or under-employed women. The upholstery program appeals to women who may not have obtained a high school diploma, whose abilities are more craft-oriented, or even those with a criminal background who have great difficulty in finding employment. The upholstery-training program Teena’s Legacy offers women the opportunity to learn the upholstery trade, while Affirm My Design subsequently offers them the opportunity to enhance, apply and earn money from the trade, and even start their own business if they desire.
My life work is unique and special in a unorthodox way. I was gifted with a vision to take a skilled craft that’s been around since the Middle Ages and metaphorize it in a way that supports self-healing and address social issue. Teena’s Legacy was started in honor of my grandmother Alberteen (Teena) Stredrick who was an accomplished seamstress and a self-taught interior decorator. She had a creative eye for fashion which resulted in unique and stylish clothes; she would model her designs in fashion shows she hosted and coordinated in the basement of her home and different local venues throughout the city of Chicago. She also had a gift in restoring and reviving old furniture back to its original glory. Unfortunately, my grandma transitioned back in Feb. 2009 but the legacy she left made a life changing impact on my life hence motivating me to keeping her legacy alive through Teena’s Legacy.
Before starting Teena’s Legacy and incorporating Affirm My Design, my background was in community development and non-profit management. While as a stay-at-home mom, I vowed to myself that if I were to ever go back into the nonprofit sector, I would start my own and in doing so I would build my nonprofit on a solid foundation grounded on Spiritual principles. Today Teena’s Legacy does not measure its success by the number of participants we serve, but instead we focus our energy on the quality of our services.
I started Teena’s Legacy in my dining room with 4 young ladies from the Englewood community in Chicago, IL. Teena’s Legacy has seen continuous growth over the years impacting over 500 lives along with providing training programs for up to 50 low-income women, annually. Teena’s Legacy currently has a presence in Chicago, IL, Gary, IN, Cartersville, and Atlanta, Georgia and Lagos, Nigeria.
Next year February 11, 2024, will be our 10th year anniversary and I’m so excited about the direction we are heading. To celebrate I will challenge myself by curating my very first art exhibit. Next year for Black History month I will curate an art exhibition entitled: “Bringing our Seats to the Table: African and Black History Covered and Re-Covered. My goal is to create a transformative experience that celebrates the power of art and culture. Drawing inspiration from our ancestor Shirley Chisholm and her iconic quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring your own folding chair.” Each chair will convey a story representing the struggles and resilience of African and Black History. The exhibit will feature over 14 recycled chairs, a couch, loveseat, table, and visual and textile art. Through this exhibition, my aim is to provide a unique and compelling entry point for people to examine and engage in critical discussions about the traumas and triumphs of African and Black History, using upholstery as a medium to pave the way.
We are also fundraising for our spring, summer and fall programs. If interest in supporting, you can visit our website https://teenaslegacy.com/art-exhibit to learn more.
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?
My three most important qualities are: Be persistent, Be humble and Be open. I would also like to add Be Faithful.
My three skills are: Be an attentive listener, Be patient, and Trust the Process.
My advice would be to visualize yourself in whatever position you desire to be in, for example: Good health, wealthy, happy, married, the perfect career etc. Be persistent and never give up on that vision. Stand bold in your ask and conviction, do not budge from what you want. Develop a successful mind set and know what you want and be clear on how to obtain it. Ally yourself with people to help you carry out your plan. Have a strong foundation and reflect on your “Big Why” on a regular basis. If money is the motivation for your “Big Why,” you are heading in the wrong direction.
Don’t be afraid to do the inside out work. Try your best to maintain perfect harmony between yourself and others. Most importantly, and the hardest part, you must surrender your “Big Dream” to your creator and separate yourself from the outcome.
A friend of mine shared a simple method on Facebook and I turned it into a simple equation and added it to my wall of things to accomplish. That equation is:
Think it + See it + Believe it + Do it= Success.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Teena’s Legacy has a program call “Re-Upholster with a Purpose.” RWP uses upholstery as a creative conduit to address social and emotional issues. Recently I was doing some research for a capacity building workshop for nonprofits and came across this article that sited, “according to the National Center on Charitable Statistics 30% of nonprofits fail to exist after 10 years.” I thought to myself, Wow! Next year will be Teena’s Legacy 10th year anniversary, although we are moving in the right direction it still motivated me to look back and think critically about Teena’s Legacy plan for the next 10 years.
A sure sign you’re not living “Big” enough according to Iyanla Vanzant is, “If there’s not something in your life that pushes you to the point where the pee is running down your leg, then you ain’t living big enough,”
Teena’s Legacy and Affirm My Design vision is a “Big One.” 20 cities, 20 countries in Africa and impacting the lives of 20,000 girls and women or more. To full fill our true potential collaboration is key. Today leading into our 10th year, we are building relationships and partnerships with like-minded individuals, organization, and corporations throughout the USA and in Africa. If you see value in the arts, skilled trades, entrepreneurship, creative ways in seeking social, emotional, and mental wellness, we would love to partner with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.teenaslegacy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenas_legacy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teenalegacy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamika-smith-2a8b1014/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teenaslegacy629/videos
