My participation in my employer’s Black History Month event was eye-opening for multiple reasons. But before I get into that, let me explain what black excellence is. For some, it is a black person who portrays great qualities and abilities that make the black community proud—or at least that is what Urban Dictionary states. To me, it is an aspiration or mindset that demonstrates; strength, enlightenment, resilience, power, and encouragement—which all are embodied in the history and culture of black people.

In preparation for the event, I was charged with writing my talking points. This shouldn’t be a strange task for me to complete considering I get paid to write speeches for other people, but it was weird writing one for myself. But then it occurred to me that I had a great opportunity to intentionally demonstrate black excellence in honor of Black History month and for my own sanity.

Over the last several months I have been struggling with self-doubt. I find myself questioning my abilities and whether or not I belong in the position I currently hold. I’ve asked myself why I’ve been experiencing these thoughts and feelings. Life is full of new experiences and challenges and I’ve had my share of both; but, I’ve had difficulty believing I belong in conjunction with trusting in my capabilities to do my job. I’ve wondered if my feelings derived from the lack of people who look like me in my office, which has ignited doubt. And here is where black excellence comes to play.

At the beginning of this post, I shared attributes that I believe make-up black excellence: strength is the capacity of an object to withstand great force or pressure; enlightenment is the act of giving spiritual insight; resilience is the ability to withstand or recover from difficult conditions; power is the ability to do something or act in a particular way; encouragement is the act of giving support, confidence, or hope to someone.

I have operated in excellence before. I’ve exercised strength, enlightenment, resilience, power, and encouragement in the most difficult times in my life. And there is no reason why I can’t use them to overcome fear.

When I stepped onto the stage during the event, I presented the best version of me—which lets me know I can do whatever I put my mind to. I am an example of black excellence and it is my duty to walk in it every day to encourage and inspire those following in my footsteps—but most of all—I owe it to myself.