We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shunnae McBride. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shunnae below.
Shunnae, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence and self-esteem through what God gave me through my empowerment ministry, Meeting in the Ladies Room. I did not grow up with much external validation and didn’t have that internal validation. But because of my passion for wanting to help women in all aspects, I had to build confidence and boldness around who I am. This pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone, and through helping other women, I was able to face my own limitations and overcome my fears.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
What I do is basically who I am. I can be considered a midwife. I can be considered a life coach. I can be considered a mentor. But all I am is a cheerleader. I am a champion for women. I want to see women win regardless of age, race, or background.
I have a mentorship program called Metamorphosis Mentorship, which focuses on helping young women ages 20-35, navigate through the parts of their lives they’re unsure about. I’ve already gone through different phases of life and different transitions, so I want to help young women while they are evolving. I always wish that when I was in that age bracket, I had somebody I could lean on and who was healed in their heart and mind to give helpful and real life advice from their experiences. So I wanted to make sure that whatever I was giving the 20 to 35 year olds was wholesome advice, laced with love, wisdom, and experience–not just something I read out of a book.
God gave me Meeting in the Ladies Room (MITLR) back in 2015, and our mission is to unite all women, empower their journey, and foster healing in every aspect of their lives. Committing to transparency, we strive to create a supportive community that inspires and uplifts, igniting women to flourish spiritually, mentally, financially, and through entrepreneurship. That’s just close and dear to my heart, especially for Black women. We’re considered at the bottom of the totem pole, and I want us to know that society may put us at the bottom of the totem pole, but we’re always at the top. We’re beautiful, we’re intelligent, we’re innovative, we’re wise, we’re classy, and we can be sassy. There are just so many layers to us as Black women. We’re often told that the way we are is not good enough, but if I can help ten women understand that they are good enough and that they are enough, and then those ten women affect other ten women, then I’ve done my job.
Regarding upcoming events, we have a Girls’ Night Out service happening at Tabernacle of Praise Church Int’l in McDonough, GA, on August 18, 2023. Girls’ Night Out is a service for all women to attend to get spiritually charged to face whatever circumstance we may be going through. It’s a time for women to reconnect with each other, fellowship, network, and just be. We laugh, we cry, we worship, and we have fun.
Meeting in the Ladies Room 2023 Conference at Tabernacle of Praise Church Int’l in McDonough, GA, from September 27-29, 2023. It is a women’s conference dedicated to all women of all ages and backgrounds. They’ll be spiritually charged, given impactful advice from entrepreneurs and ministry leaders, and exposed to different areas of the marketplace. I truly believe God wants us to win in our walk with Him and on this earth to help others in whatever purpose God has given us.
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 most impactful qualities that I had to learn were self-forgiveness, self-compassion, and self-awareness.
I had to forgive myself for making decisions that may not have been wise at the time, but it was all I knew to survive my circumstance. Sometimes we make decisions that may not be the best, but it’s the only thing we know to do in that present moment. Then when we know better, we sit back and start replaying those moments and have a shoulda, coulda, woulda party about our life. But you have to accept your past, forgive yourself for what you knew or didn’t know then, and give yourself compassion.
Be compassionate with yourself. You wouldn’t call your best friend stupid if they failed at something or a dummy for making a mistake. Instead, you would comfort them, encourage them to do better, or try again. You would give them love, care, and comfort. So why do the opposite to yourself? We must learn to look in the mirror, give ourselves compassion, and talk to ourselves like talking to our best friend. Your words and thoughts have power. It can affect the way you see yourself, how your body feels, and your decisions. So be nice to yourself. Love on yourself. Accept yourself in every way, the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly.
Which brings me to self-awareness. You have to be aware of who you are. Don’t try to compare yourself to people’s highlights on social media or compare yourself to a woman that may be running faster than you. Why? Because you don’t know what she has to do to keep up the pace. And the majority of people aren’t being completely honest on social media anyway. They’ll show the highlights but not the work, not the dark moments, not the failures, or the time it took to get where they are. So self-awareness, to me, is essential. For me, it was just being aware of who I am, what my gifts are, what my abilities are, and what God has put inside of me to contribute to making this world better. So I’m not trying to be the next anybody. I’m just trying to be the best me.
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?
Several books have impacted me and my growth. But Atomic Habits by James Clear opened my eyes to some of the areas I still needed to develop and why I was frustrated with myself. I thought I was frustrated with myself because I did not achieve specific goals I had set for myself in my late teens and early 20s and even in my early 30s. I learned it was the habits that I had created over time that became a part of me. So I had to sever my old self from myself, so I could grow to be the person that can be more effective and be a person that I can look in the mirror and say I’m proud of even if I don’t have a plethora of degrees and accolades behind my name.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shunnaemcbride.org
- Instagram: shunnaemcbride
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShunnaeBMcBride
- Other: www.meetingintheladiesroom.net
Image Credits
Onesimus Williams Renee Burt Ashli McBride
