Discovering self-worth with author Collena Doctor
Published:Sunday | April 21, 2019 | 12:00 AMRocheda Bartley - Gleaner Writer
In her teenage years, Collena Doctor lived in the shadow of her friends at Holy Childhood High School. Keeping up a front, the inner-city youngster posed as a wealthy heiress just to fit in with her classmates from upscale communities. But it did not end as she thought it would have. Now an author, motivational speaker, and life coach, Doctor is helping others to discover, bolster, and rebuild their confidence.
Inevitably, she truth was revealed in spite of her efforts to conceal it. The result, she reminisced, was an emotional roller coaster that morphed into depression. At 16 years old, the world become her enemy. But soon after she became a Christian. That was when her life changed forever.
Her book, Oops I Broke a Nail: Dig Yourself Free from Past Hurt. Discover Your True Self-Worth!, and a self-assurance programme, The Worthy Girl Workshop, are her latest attempts at accomplishing her task.
Doctor’s experiences have inspired and continue to motivate her efforts. For instance, becoming fearful of being ridiculed because of her family’s economic status led her to become insecure. This further caused the teen to make a series of bad decisions. And after learning important lessons from the mistakes she made, she has been compelled to assist others who are vulnerable to falling victims to similar situations.
In hindsight, she explained, this encounter was the first to convince her to commit her thoughts to paper.
“I realised how my friends treated people who were not in their class. They shunned them. At the time, I didn’t know who I was, and if I had revealed the truth to my friends, I knew they wouldn’t have been interested in my company anymore and it’s sad that I couldn’t tell them who I was. So, eventually, I became a victim of peer pressure,” she explained.
OOPS I BROKE A NAIL
The book provides a detailed step-by-step guide to young women who are struggling to identify their value. Finding your worth as an individual, a daughter, wife, or friend are some of the ways Doctor has explored using practical activities, to ensure that her audience learns to appreciate themselves. Another major focus of the 2019 piece is fulfilling one’s purpose.
“I discovered my worth when I started to learn about the One who created me. Furthermore, I realised that if I were to attain anything in life, no one was going to hand it to me. I had to fight it and if that meant breaking a nail, I was going to do it,” Doctor revealed to Outlook.
She continued: “I had two choices and I chose the best one. I could either sit and worry about all my struggles forever or move on. But I knew I needed to shake it off and dig myself out of this pit of depression than I had fallen into and most of all, I need to discover who am I and that’s what I did.”
Cherishing the days of small beginnings is a tool she uses to encourage growth. It’s a chapter of her life story that she uses wisely to assist many with getting on the road to success.
WORKING FOR OTHERS
The Worthy Girl Workshop, operates in a similar fashion as her book. However, it centres on adolescent girls. Her intention is to prove to these youngsters that there is more to life than they can ever imagine. Her story, as well as those of other women who have struggled with poor self-esteem, are her major weapons in this context.
Doctor is determined to fight for her cause for as long as possible. She hopes that others will continue to give her the opportunity to help make a difference in their life.
She cautions all young women to, “Get to know your story, starting with your family background. Do not be ashamed of that, love yourself enough to accept it and don’t do like I did and hide yourself from your friends. If they cannot accept you for who you really are, then they are probably not your friends.”