Welcome to the Black Girl Burnout podcast, Kelly here. And today we are closing out the week

by continuing our theme for December, which is about releasing and reflecting. And as we go

into the weekend, if you're listening to this in real time, I want to remind you of one more thing that I want to challenge you as a listener and everyone around you who identifies as a black woman to release going into January 2025. And that is the need to be all things to all

people. The need to be superwoman, we just can't afford to take that with us into the new year

or into any space that we are taking up.

Now, this year I feel more than any year in the past has shown us just how much of a cultural

lie that is. Black women have sacrificed themselves socially, emotionally, romantically,

politically, across all spheres, put themselves

last. And we are seeing collectively the consequences of that. The truth of the matter is,

if you don't love yourself, you can't teach others how to love you, and you can't set expectations

that they do. And so the results become that you're loved less, you're taking advantage of,

your boundaries are not respected. Now, I know that we have been fed a steady stream of

propaganda that tells us we can do everything

and we should be proud. There's nothing a black woman can't do. And I'm here to say that part of

that's true. There's nothing that you can't do that nourishes your soul, that brings you joy,

that is linked to abundance in your birthright.

There's nothing that limits that.

But it is an absolute lie to believe that you can do everything, be everything, and do everything for others.

That's just not possible.

Black women are in crisis. Physically, we are three times more likely to have autoimmune diseases than the rest of the population. The maternal

mortality rate is sky high. Black women are suffering with higher rates of depression and anxiety than we previously

thought because the way it shows up for us is very different than what is traditionally known

...