It’s Not an Exercise…It’s a Mindset Movement
Bad Girl Fit isn’t another fitness series; it’s a mindset and attitude. A FREE, on-demand health and wellness campaign in your email inbox offering seven days of affirmation and inspiration that, among other things, addresses self-worth, belonging, healing, and more. It also offers seven days of challenges around rest, taking up space, expanding beauty standards, and more. But it really offers seven mindset shifts that can help you reclaim your health and wealth or deepen your practice of doing both without compromising one for the other. It was created for badass moms who do extraordinary things.
Pledge 2:
I pledge to mind my greens—mustards, collards, and dollars—claiming both my culture and wealth without apology.
There has always been a tension between my desire and drive to excel and do well and my identity as a Black woman, particularly as a Black woman born and raised in poverty. A huge part of our culture is about “keeping it real,” “not selling out,” and “remembering where you came from.”
At the same time, becoming successful may require one to code-switch, make compromises, and venture out from home (literally and figuratively). For years, I felt guilty about being a Black woman who attended excellent schools, accomplished my goals, and managed to experience successes that others hadn’t. I became a people pleaser and began playing small to make others comfortable.
At some point, it all became too much. By striving for other people’s acceptance and forcing myself to shrink, I wasn’t keeping it real. I was selling out and forgetting where I came from. Not only was my behavior contradicting the culture, but it was also anti-Black. When we confine Blackness to the “trenches,” we deny our expansiveness. When we see PhDs as “player hater degrees” and label Black people who move between mainstream and Black cultures as “Oreos”; we deny our complexity. And when we feel guilty about our success, we insult the sacrifices of those ancestors and predecessors who made today’s accomplishments possible.
We deserve to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. It’s time to stop apologizing for these.
Today’s Challenge
Make a Statement
Identify cultural beliefs and practices that seem to be bumping against your financial or wellness goals. For example, you may have been trained that “women should be seen and not heard,” yet you want to be a public speaker. Or you may have been trained that money is the “root of all evil,” but you want to become a millionaire. Create a statement reconciling that tension, allowing the two to coexist peacefully. Repeat it every day until you believe it, starting today.