Affirmations for Black Girls

Host: Tyra The Creative (Tyra Gabrielle Morrison)
Episode 449 | Why are You Playing Small? It’s Time to Embrace Your Boldness: Why You Deserve to Take Up Space, Feel Seen, and Be Heard
Release Date: December 29, 2025

Overview

This powerful year-end episode is a call for Black women to stop playing small and unapologetically take up space in every aspect of their lives. Tyra The Creative reflects on her own journey with boldness in 2025, tackles the roots of self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and shares actionable steps to help listeners step into their “Big Deal Energy” in 2026. Through affirmation, personal stories, science, and soulful encouragement, Tyra invites everyone to own their presence, trust their value, and become the main character in their own lives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

(01:09) Playing Small: The Cost and the Awakening

• Tyra opens by questioning the cost of “playing small,” inviting listeners to reflect on moments this year where they watered themselves down or hesitated to speak up:
  • “What if I told you that playing small is the most expensive mistake you made all year?... All playing small has ever done for you is delay everything that you are capable of becoming.” (Tyra, 01:09)
• Tyra highlights how showing up fully as yourself causes things to shift—when you play small, nothing changes.

(04:37) Year’s Theme: Big Deal Energy & Quiet Boldness

• The 2025 theme was “Big Deal Energy” — being bold, audacious, and unapologetically authentic.

• Key insight: Boldness isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s choosing yourself when no one else is clapping.

  • “Sometimes boldness is quiet. Sometimes boldness is internal... it looked like resting when I needed to, it looked like removing myself from teams not set up for me to succeed. It looked like saying no, even when yes felt safer.” (Tyra, 04:55)

• Tyra credits her courage to deep faith:

  • “What God has for me will never require me to shrink, to contort or silence who I am.” (Tyra, 05:55)

(06:10) Affirmation of the Week

• Affirmation: “I am the main character in my story.”
  • Tyra leads listeners through repeating and internalizing this affirmation and emphasizes its importance:
    • “If you’re not the main character in your story, then where will you be? Because everyone else’s story has already been cast. Their scenes, their wins, their dreams, their spotlight. You only get one chance to be the star. There is no understudy.” (Tyra, 08:00)

(09:00) Taking Yourself Seriously

• Main practices to showing up boldly:
  1. Prioritize Yourself:
     • Black women are often conditioned to put others first; Tyra urges listeners to decenter everyone else and put themselves at the center, stressing the difference between giving from fullness versus depletion.
     • “You can show up fully for yourself without guilt. You can prioritize your dreams, your energy, your peace, your needs, and still be a loving and giving person.” (Tyra, 10:47)
  2. Honor Your Presence:
     • Speak, act, and move intentionally. Your energy sets the tone for how others treat you.
     • “If you walk into every room like you're a guest apologizing for being there, the room is going to treat you like one.” (Tyra, 12:16)
     • Cites research: Confident body language changes both how others see you and how you feel about yourself.
  3. Trust Your Value:
     • Stop waiting for permission; your life only needs your commitment.
     • “Trusting your value means believing you are capable, that you are deserving and equipped to handle the next step—even if no one else applauds it.” (Tyra, 14:45)

(18:36) Authenticity, Messiness, and Imposter Syndrome

• Authenticity isn’t about being overconfident or perfect; it can be messy and uncomfortable, but it's real.
• The biggest barrier to boldness is internal, not external: imposter syndrome and self-doubt.
  • Imposter syndrome defined: “A psychological pattern where we doubt our accomplishments and have a fear of being exposed as a fraud, despite evidence of our success.” (Tyra, 19:25)
• Common signs and feelings:
  • Hesitating to share ideas (“Maybe I'm not ready”)
  • Downplaying wins to avoid seeming too proud

(20:38) Combating Imposter Syndrome

• Tyra gives actionable steps:
  1. Name it — recognize when imposter syndrome appears.
  2. Document your wins (big or small).
  3. Reframe failure: “There’s only blessings and lessons in life, no failure.” (Tyra, 21:21)
  4. Mentally rehearse your presence: Visualize yourself confidently taking up space.
• “Confidence builds not from perfection, but from practice.” (Tyra, 22:35)

(23:45) The Power of Seeing & Planning Your Next Year

• If you’ve shown up and done inner work this year, “give yourself credit and a big round of applause.” (Tyra, 24:19)
• For 2026, Tyra shifts focus to maintaining and expanding “Big Deal Energy”:
  • Visualize your year, make vision boards or playlists, and keep your intentions visible daily.
  • Allow yourself to pivot your intentions as you grow—alignment over perfection.

(27:05) Rejecting “Niching Down” and Embracing Expansion

• Tyra criticizes pressure to “niche down," calling it a trap to make us small/simplified.
• “When you outgrow that box, you start to feel friction... The great pivot is us expanding again.” (Tyra, 28:47)

(30:00) Taking Up Space as an Ongoing Practice

• “Taking up space isn't a one-time decision. It is a lifestyle—a commitment to showing up fully in every season, even when you’re still figuring out who you are.” (Tyra, 30:31)
• She challenges listeners to think about how they'll take up space next year in work, relationships, self-image.

(32:10) Boldness in Everyday Choices

• Each act of speaking up, saying no, or pivoting is “flexing that muscle”—confidence grows from practice.
• “Boldness is not about being perfect, it’s about showing up anyway... Sometimes it’s choosing yourself even when nobody else is clapping yet—and that’s real courage.” (Tyra, 33:34)

(34:25) Your Story, Your Main Character

• “There is no understudy, no replacement, no waiting for permission. The only way to honor this life is to show up fully, unapologetically, and boldly for yourself as God unfolds the pages before your eyes.” (Tyra, 34:29)
• Recap: take lessons, keep courage, protect your space, celebrate wins, and step into the new year without shrinking.

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• On boldness and shrinking:
  • “Shrinking, hesitating or waiting for permission only robs you of moments in your story. It robs you of your energy, boldness, and joy that those moments truly deserve.” (Tyra, 08:26)
• On respect:
  • “When you constantly shrink yourself in your own mind, the world is going to follow suit. If you don't honor your own presence, why the hell will anybody else?” (Tyra, 12:03)
• On the myth of selflessness:
  • “We’re told that it is noble to stretch ourselves thin, to put others first, to sacrifice our peace for somebody else's comfort...but the truth is, you do not have to live like that.” (Tyra, 10:28)
• On the great pivot and evolving:
  • “Let yourself become. That’s the whole sentence.” (Tyra, 29:25)
• On taking up space:
  • “Taking up space means believing that you're worthy of being in every room you walk into. It means showing up fully for yourself the way you've shown up for everybody else. But this time, unapologetically, intentionally and boldly.” (Tyra, 31:09)

(35:15) Tyra’s 2025 Highlight Reel: Personal Reflections

1. Hosting & Creation: Launched “Tyra’s Table,” including themed coffee and ice cream shop events, plus a supper club.

   • “It woke something up in me that hadn’t been awake for a long time... brought me so much joy.” (Tyra, 36:00)

2. Collaborating on Cookies: Partnered with West Hollywood’s Junior Cookie on new flavors, proudest of her “blueberry cornmeal” cookie—a nod to her Louisiana roots.

3. Spending Her Birthday at Home: After 10 years, celebrated her birthday and her brother’s at home with family, emphasizing the joy of reconnecting with her roots.

4. Her Dad on Tastemade: Finally included her father in her baking content for TasteMade—fulfilling to bring her family into her creative world:

   • “Being able to bring my daddy into this world that, honestly, he had a huge hand in creating was just so fulfilling.” (Tyra, 39:10)

(41:30) Looking Forward: What Tyra Believes God For in 2026

• Welcoming her future husband and advancing her acting career—specifically, booking an action adventure film.
• Encourages listeners:
  • “Just write it down and make it plain. What are you believing God for in 2026?” (Tyra, 41:53)

Closing Thoughts

Tyra wraps by expressing deep gratitude to her audience for supporting her and the podcast. She encourages everyone to leave a review to help hit her goal of landing in Apple’s top 100. She affirms the importance of embracing boldness, learning from every season, and showing up as the main character in your unique life story.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:09: [Skipped: Ads]
• 01:09 – 06:10: The high price of “playing small” & Yearly reflections
• 06:10 – 08:45: Affirmation: "I am the main character in my story"
• 09:00 – 15:52: Steps to taking yourself seriously; honoring presence; self-value
• 18:12 – 20:38: Authenticity, messiness, and imposter syndrome defined
• 20:38 – 23:45: Tactics to overcome imposter syndrome
• 23:45 – 27:05: Visualizing and planning for a new year; maintenance of “Big Deal Energy”
• 27:05 – 30:00: Rejecting the “niche down” mindset, embracing expansion
• 30:00 – 35:15: Making taking up space a lifestyle, not a one-time act
• 35:15 – 41:30: Tyra’s personal highlight reel for 2025; family, food, and fulfillment
• 41:30 – 42:17: Hopes and prayers for 2026 (love, career); call to action for listeners

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a motivational manifesto for anyone ready to stop shrinking and live fully. Tyra The Creative offers her heart, practical strategies, and personal moments as proof that embracing boldness, prioritizing yourself, and trusting your value are the keys to feeling seen and truly alive. Step into 2026 as your most unapologetic self—the world will catch up.