Ep. 5: God was Like… SMITE!

This episode is about growing up early, working young, navigating male-dominated workplaces, trusting your instincts, drawing hard boundaries, surviving betrayal, and understanding why “being nice” has cost women more than anything else in their careers.

This one gets heavy. Because real workplace survival always does.

We Started Working Before We Were Allowed To

Most women don’t “enter” the workforce.
We’re raised in it.

Some of us started at nine.
Some at twelve.
Cleaning offices. Filing papers. Doing real labor while being told it was “character building.”

And it was.

We learned discipline early.
Responsibility early.
And the unspoken rule that you don’t get things handed to you… you earn them.

Men and Women Do Not Start on the Same Playing Field

Let’s not dance around it.

Men get handed opportunities.
Women get handed obstacles.

Women work harder, get questioned more, and still have to prove they belong in rooms they already earned access to.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t good men.
There are.

Mentors. Leaders. Supporters.
Men who teach without hovering.
Guide without expecting something in return.

But the system?
Still male-dominated.
Still stacked.

Confidence Is Learned the Hard Way

If we could tell our younger selves one thing, it would be this:

Have confidence sooner.

Most women hate confrontation.
We cave.
We shrink.
We shut down.

Not because we’re weak… because we were taught that being agreeable was safer than being firm.

Confidence didn’t come from “believing in ourselves.”
It came from not caring anymore.

Not proving.
Not performing.
Not explaining.

Just knowing our worth… quietly and completely.

Growth Requires Humility (Not Silence)

Confidence isn’t pretending you know everything.

It’s being humble enough to ask questions.
To learn deeply.
To specialize.
To master your lane.

Women who succeed don’t fake competence.
They build it.

And then they stop apologizing for it.

If You’re Not Valued, You’re Allowed to Leave

This one hits women differently.

Leaving a job feels like quitting. Like failure. Like abandoning years of blood, sweat, and tears.

But it’s not failure… It’s evolution.

Jobs are like relationships:
We cling.
We overextend.
We stay too long because we don’t want to admit it’s no longer serving us.

If a workplace doesn’t grow with you, it will suffocate you.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner. Including you.

Being Raised Around Men Is a Double-Edged Sword

Growing up with brothers teaches you how men talk, joke, think, and test boundaries.

It makes you less easily offended but also more likely to dismiss early red flags.

You learn to tolerate behavior instead of interrogating it.

That’s where “mental tabs” come in.

You don’t always confront.
You observe.
You remember.
You adjust access.

Awareness is power.

Creeps Are Never Obvious…Until They Are

Here’s the truth nobody likes: The most dangerous men aren’t strangers. They’re familiar.

• Family friends.

• Mentors.

• Business associates.

• Men you trust by default.

They earn safety first. Then cross the line.

And women still ask themselves: “What did I do wrong?”

Nothing.

The Emotional Labor Women Carry After Harm

Men think in moments. Women think in consequences.

After betrayal, women worry about:

• His wife.

• His kids.

• His family.

• The fallout.

Men don’t.

That difference matters.

It’s not weakness.
It’s humanity.

But it’s also why women carry guilt that never belonged to them.

Healing Is Not Forgetting

Trauma doesn’t disappear. It transforms you.

Healing isn’t pretending it didn’t happen. It’s refusing to let it define your future.

Talk about it. Process it. Get help if you need it.

Silence suffocates. Truth sets you free.

Boundaries Repel the Wrong Men Instantly

Here’s the cheat code: Draw the line early and clearly.

Good men respect it. Bad men get angry.

When a man calls you a bitch for setting a boundary, you’ve already won.

You weren’t difficult. You were inaccessible.

And predators hate that.

Final Takeaways (Read This Twice)

✔ Trust your instincts
✔ Mental tabs save lives
✔ Confidence comes from self-worth, not approval
✔ You’re allowed to leave places that don’t grow you
✔ Familiarity does not equal safety
✔ Boundaries expose intentions
✔ Healing is leadership

If this episode stirred something in you… you’re not alone.
Every woman has a story like this.
Some just haven’t said it out loud yet.

And if you’ve reached the stage where you genuinely don’t give a f*ck anymore?

Congratulations. That’s power.

See you next week, you hoes.