Back Yourself: The Power of Standing in Your Truth ~ with Lildonia Lawrence
Episode 185
🎧 Episode Summary:
In this powerful and affirming episode, I’m joined by well-being coach and activist Lildonia Lawrence, as we explore the vital themes of backing oneself, standing in one’s truth, and embracing rest as resistance. Through her lived experiences and deep work with BIPOC communities, Lildonia shares how identity suppression, racial trauma, and systemic inequities impact well-being — and how reclaiming joy, movement, and authenticity can become radical tools for healing and empowerment.
Whether you’re navigating workplace microaggressions, cultural expectations, or your own journey of self-acceptance, this conversation offers a reminder: You are worthy of rest. You are powerful in your truth. And you can back yourself.
✨ Episode Highlights:
🛡️ "Backing yourself" as a radical act of self-worth and resistance
👩🏾💼 Identity suppression in the workplace and its effects on self-esteem and well-being
🌀 Embracing rest as resistance, inspired by Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance
💃🏽 Movement, dance, and joy as forms of cultural and spiritual resilience
🌿 The essential role of community healing in personal empowerment
🤝 How allies can show up meaningfully in anti-racism work
🔥 Lildonia’s call to action: “You’ve got this. I believe that you can back yourself.”
💬 Favorite Quotes from Lildonia:
“Backing yourself means owning your identity unapologetically — especially in spaces that weren’t built for you.”
“Rest isn’t a luxury — it’s a right. Our ancestors weren’t given rest. We honor them when we reclaim it.”
“Joy is resistance. Movement is protest. And community is our strength.”
📚 Resources & Mentions:
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com