You ever ask yourself - where am I sabotaging my own power without realizing it?
Those are the moments of felt progress
Lately I am noticing something that doesn’t get named enough — especially in leadership and impact spaces.
It’s not sabotage, Not exactly.
It’s not a lack of skill or passion.
It’s something deeper, quieter — honestly, more dangerous.
That’s what happens when we unconsciously internalize the very systems we say we are trying to dismantle.
When we replicate patterns of control, manipulation, or silence…but towards ourselves.
When we avoid clarity, soften our power, or perform humility — not out of wisdom, but out of fear of not being accepted.
This isn’t a call out. It’s a mirror.
(A mirror I spend time looking into alongside you)
A question: What if the biggest barrier to trust isn’t others — but how little you trust your own clarity?
(energy force fields of a tunnel in space - Vitaly Sosnovsky)
Everyone’s naming systems of harm out there — white supremacy, capitalism, colonization — but not enough people are talking about the way we internalize and reproduce those systems inside ourselves.
That’s self-oppression.
It’s when we:
Intellectualize liberation but still perform for proximity to power.
Silence ourselves while demanding others be louder.
Discredit our own knowing because it doesn’t come with academic citations.
Replicate hierarchy in our communities because we’re too scared to trust something more reciprocal.
Use “strategy” as an excuse to avoid being real — because real requires risk.
I’ve seen it in myself. I’ve seen it in clients. I see it in community spaces that claim to be liberatory but feel eerily similar to the systems we’re trying to dismantle.
Self-oppression is quiet, well-dressed, and often rewarded.
But it erodes trust, distorts leadership, and creates the very outcomes we say we don’t want.
And here’s the truth that might be hard to swallow:
If you haven’t done your own internal work — with both sides of your lineage, with how you respond to power, with how you use your voice when no one is watching — you are likely engaging in self-oppressive behaviors.
This isn’t about shame. This is about clarity.
We can’t change what we won’t name.
We can’t lead what we haven’t lived.
Let’s name the inner systems too — not just the external ones.
Because Self-Oppression Isn’t Talked About Enough-yet!
If my words move you, challenge you, or offer clarity — and you'd like to support the deeper work behind them — consider contributing to the GoFundMe. Your support helps sustain this work at the intersection of Indigenous wisdom, leadership, and systemic healing.
Every share, donation, and kind word is a form of reciprocity. Yakoke (thank you).
Michele
P.S. Yakoke is Choctaw for thank you
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