Conquering Fears & Anxieties Interview with Jerrilyn Black

It brings us great pleasure to interview our first Gathering special guest speaker for 2015; Ms. Jerrilyn Black, of J. Francis Black Life Coaching.  Ms. Black is a certified life strategies coach, with a master's degree in social work, and a passion for working with individuals from all walks of life. 

BOND Girl: Thank you Jerrilyn for agreeing to help bring in a brand new and exciting year for BOND Inc. We are in great expectation for our January Gathering “Conquering Fears and Anxieties to Achieve Life Resolutions in the New Year” What better way to start a new year than to attack what scares us most. We feel strongly that this is a topic that affects a lot of women of color, many of which may be too ashamed to actual admit that there are some things in their lives that grips them to having the life that they so deserve.

So, Jerrilyn tell us a little bit about you and why you are passionate about this topic? 

Jerrilyn Black: I am really passionate about helping women overcome their

fears/anxieties to transition to fulfillment because we often hold ourselves back from stepping into our power because fear gets in the way.  Our fears have a way of protecting us, which can be a great thing when we are truly in danger, yet they can be detrimental when they shield us from our greater good.  I really love helping women to have those ‘aha’ moments, when they realize that they have internal power to overcome what’s been holding them back to accomplish their dreams.  I am excited to help women step into the New Year by stepping into their power.  Having a plan of action, or a foundation for change, is incredibly important to keeping those fears in check, and I look forward to assisting women in developing or supplementing their foundations.

BOND Girl: We often hear that many women suffer silently from fear? What do you think may be the cause and what advice would you give to overcome it? 

Jerrilyn Black: Women suffer silently from fear because we wear so many hats during the course of a day (employee, mother, significant other, daughter, sister, friend, etc.), and to admit to fear may mean that one or several of those roles are placed into jeopardy.  Or, we are so used to being ‘superhuman’ to everyone around us, and admitting that we are fearful or anxious may reveal our kryptonite, or a nonexistent clink in our armor.  So, we may tuck the fear away and let it fester, preventing us from accomplishing our dreams (and then this festered fear becomes the real clink or kryptonite).   

"My pieces of advice to overcoming some of our fears is to develop a plan, ask others to hold us accountable, understand where our fears exist inside of us and why, and do at least one thing (big or small) every day to achieve our goals."

BOND Girl: What do you think are the main reasons women are afraid to take that big leap of faith? 

Jerrilyn Black: I believe women are afraid or feel anxious about taking a big leap of faith because we feel there is no safety net if we fall or fail, are afraid of failure itself, believe our dreams are too big to accomplish, don’t know where our leap should even begin, don’t want to make a wrong move or decision, and/or feel that we are alone on our journeys. 

BOND Girl: Who do you think should attend and who could really benefit from this type of Gathering? 

Jerrilyn Black: I believe women who are looking to transition to a life of fulfillment can benefit from this gathering because they will receive tools and techniques to assess their fears and plan for the future.

BOND Girl: Jerrilyn, if you could set the stage for the “Conquering Fears & Anxieties to Achieve Life Resolutions in the New Year? What should our guest expect for that evening? What kind of topics do you expect that our guests will hear January 16th?

Jerrilyn Black: The workshop will be what my sister called a ‘make and take’ where women will interactively engage their fears, and also begin to develop goals/plans for their dreams. When I work with clients one-on-one, they set the stage and typically do most of the talking, and my workshops are no different.  I use my techniques to facilitate dialogue and hopefully change, but I will not talk at you.  It will be a time to share, and have tools to begin overcoming fear to achieve your resolutions, intentions, and goals.  Women will learn how to develop and use SMART goals in their everyday lives, develop their own fear/anxiety scale, reflect on what is holding them back, and translate how to overcome those fears into achieving their dreams.

BOND Girl: Jerrilyn, thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing you

in action this coming Friday, January 16^th.  Before we go are there any other thought’s you’d like to share with our readers? 

Jerrilyn Black: I am really excited to share my tools and techniques with BOND’s guest and friends.  This is a fantastic space for women to learn, share, teach, be authentic, and connect within a sisterly bond (no pun intended), and I am so happy that I could be part of BOND’s amazing start to such a new and fantastic year.

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To read Jerrilyn Black full bio, CLICK HERE.