You may have been conditioned to be in bondage to something or somebody.
People-pleasing, anxiety attacks, financial struggles, poverty, choosing lower standards in relationships (formerly known as settling), doubting yourself, going "from 0 to 100," hyper-independence, and believing limiting beliefs..
All of these keep us in bondage to something.
If you’re people-pleasing, you may be in bondage to the habit of placing others on pedestals and lowering yourself in comparison to them;
If you’re experiencing anxiety attacks, you may feel in bondage to anxiety, stress, and overwhelm;
If you’re experiencing financial struggle and have a history of poverty within your family or ancestry, you may be in bondage to a scarcity mindset;
If you have recognized a cycle of settling in romantic, platonic, or familial relationships, you may be in bondage to low self-worth;
If you’re doubting yourself, you may be in bondage to insecurities;
If you are going "from 0 to 100," are easily triggered, or are allowing triggers to pile up and ruin your day, you may be in bondage to depression;
If you are hyper-independent or self-identify with the lyrics of Boosie (*cue I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T), you may be in bondage to mistrust of others;
If you believe the lies of limited beliefs, you may be in bondage to past trauma.
Identifying the experience as bondage is meant to push you to get out of stuck places.
I understand this is a different perspective to have because it requires a greater level of ownership and accountability, and I hope it starts you on a path of freedom; For freedom first starts with awareness that you’re chained in the first place.
What does this look like for the Black Athlete?
In your experience as a Black Athlete, think about...
Whose influence have you placed above your own voice?
What has pressure felt like in your body?
Is there a history of poverty in your bloodline and if so, what thoughts about money or abundance have been passed down to you because of that history?
What are you tolerating from others that you really don’t accept just to say you have support and to avoid the feeling of loneliness?
What are you trying to manage or figure out without support?
In presenting these questions, I challenge you to think deeper and thereby deepen your relationship with you and free you from the bondage of whatever it is you may be chained to.
Written by Kheri A. Corbin,
For the ones who feel stuck and stagnant,
For those Black Athletes,
And the ones who genuinely love them