Where do you feel like you belong? Maybe it’s with your family, your co-workers, or your peers. For many multiracial people, such as myself and many of you, finding that sense of belonging isn’t easy. We balance our own identities with what others think about our identities, and those perceptions can stop us from feeling like we belong.
The systems and institutions we all live in are some of the reasons many of us don’t feel like we belong. We have generations of fear passed down to us and we’re left always wondering if our seat at the table is due to our talents or the table’s need for more diversity.
Many of us have found a sense of belonging in our forged families, in the people we’ve met along the way that accept us and understand us and don’t require us to be any different than who we are. For some of us, our list of forged family members only consists of ourselves right now and, friends, that’s okay.
My guest today has lots of experience navigating being multiracial in a world with systems and institutions that weren’t created for him to belong in. He’s a successful author, thought leader, productivity coach, and veteran. And, he’s biracial. I think his personal experience of understanding what it means to belong will be inspiring to many of you.
Today, I’m sharing my interview with previous guest, Charlie Gilkey. Charlie is the founder of Productive Flourishing, a company that helps professional creatives, leaders, and changemakers take meaningful action on work that matters. He is internationally recognized as a thought leader on productivity, planning, strategy, and leadership for creative people.
Charlie and I have a lot in common when it comes to racial identity and not feeling like we totally belong in the systems and institutions around us. In our discussion, Charlie breaks down why this is and how we can cultivate a sense of belonging. Remember friends, it’s harder to create belonging with others when you don’t have the belonging with yourself first.
LISTEN HERE
WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER
- How complicated it can be to check a box on your race.
- How fear over things being taken from you gets passed down.
- Why some Black men feel they get less mistakes and have to win bigger.
- What double consciousness is and why it’s common for women and POC.
- The unique experience of not belonging that multiracial people have.
- What a forged family is and how it creates a sense of belonging.
RESOURCES FOR YOU
- Charlie Gilkey Productive Flourishing
- Start Finishing: How to Go From Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey
- Charlie’s previous episode on the How She Really Does It Podcast
- Social Venture Partners Portland
- #PublishingPaidMe
- To Be Black is to Be Less Free – Medium post by Charlie Gilkey
- Sounds True
- Grab your spot in my live virtual workshop on Trusting Yourself!
- Sign up for my new course: How to Feel Grounded Confidence
- Sign up here to receive Friday Podcast updates, Sunday Love letters, and Wisdom Wednesdays.