We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joanne M. Cherisma a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joanne M. , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before.
I have suffered many losses the past couple of years. Some were more painful than others. But, throughout them all, I have learnt one crucial lesson “as long as you’re alive, you must go on”. It doesn’t matter how deep the pain, or the deception is. You have to keep going. And, I had to do this not only for myself but also for my son because he deserved the best version of myself that could exist which push me to become resilient. In order to do that:
– I had to find ways to make every day have meaning. Finding purpose every day and setting realistic goals was a way for me to always look towards the future with excitement.
– I also had to build stronger and healthier relationships. Defining who was and was not for me was decisive in my growth and help me remain hopeful. Being able to reach out to others for support is proven to be a key part of being resilient.
– I had to accept the fact that I could only learn from the past and that I couldn’t change it. This helps me adapt and assess new obstacle with less apprehension.
– I had to practice self-care. Attend to your own needs and feelings is vital in life. You should never ignore your feelings or problems. You should acknowledge them and figure out ways to take actions. This help recovering from setbacks, loss and trauma and realizing that you can always improve if you put the work to it.
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?
I moved to the US after the Haitian Earthquake in 2010. I have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is currently working on my Master’s. In 2018 I decided to dedicate myself to the writing profession. Since then, I’ve been very fortunate to have had my work featured in a variety of publications.
In 2016, I started Beyond The Abuse, Inc. in order to bring awareness on abusive relationships and provide hope, empowerment, support and confidence to the victims. And since, I have been using my voice and my writing as an outlet for those who can understand the slings and arrows of life at many speaking engagements, DV events and workshops in the United States, Canada, and Haiti.
At, Beyond The Abuse, Inc. through diverse programing such as support groups, empowerment sessions, parenting sessions relationship sessions, interview workshops, money management, budgeting sessions, annual book fair, domestic violence conference, annual gala and multiple giveaways etc… I have help instilling more confidence in the DV victims, empower them, and help them and their family becoming more financially independent.
In 2018, I published “I Never Thought I Would Be A Statistic” in which I shared a testimony of how I overcame an abusive marriage and in 2023, “Becoming Intentional” which is an empowerment journal came out. I am currently working on a poetry book which I am very excited about.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that I believe have been most impactful to my journey are focus, persistence, and hope.
I believe you can accomplish anything as long as you remained focus, persistent and you never lose hope. Therefore, the advice that I would give to anyone who are early in their journey in order to best develop or improve on these is to always remember that your journey is yours and yours only. Others might walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
Self-Care has been my biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months. I used to put everyone else needs and wants before mine. This leads me so many time to being depressed and hurt, and feeling misunderstood.
I had to accept the fact that self-care is not selfishness and I had to consciously decide to practice it in order to promote my physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. I had to stop and take care of myself so I could be healthy enough to work, help and care or others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joannemcherisma.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannemcherisma/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joannemcherisma/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-cherisma-bsn-rn-70b2a286
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@conversationswithjo7295
- Other: www.beyondtheabuse.org
Image Credits
– Randolph Nazario
