Dear Readers,

During our weekly women’s Bible study, my sister asked a question that didn’t just land — it lingered.

“What name have you been answering to that God never gave you?”

At first, it sounded like a simple reflection. One of those pause-and-think-for-a-second questions.

But then, the room fell quiet.

And in the stillness, I realized: this was not a surface-level question. It was a soul-level one.

Because if we’re being honest, most of us have been answering to names we were never meant to carry.

We’ve been responding to labels given to us by pain, by people, by pressure.

We’ve accepted definitions that were born out of trauma, criticism, or comparison — and we’ve worn them like identity badges.

Names like:

Dear readers,

Self-sabotage is real. It sneaks into our thoughts, tells us we’re not good enough, and convinces us that we’re destined to fail. It starts as a small voice, a doubt in our minds that tells us we can’t do something. That voice grows louder, convincing us we aren’t worthy of success. It’s a dangerous cycle, and it’s something we all experience—no matter our age.

I saw a post from my cousin, Jamelia, on her Facebook page, and it hit me so deeply that I knew I had to share it. With her permission, I’m using her words because this message is too powerful to keep to myself: