Meagan Good Says She's 'Learning to Live Again' and 'Say No' amid Divorce

meagan good
meagan good
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Nicolette Carney

After a year of personal and professional ups and downs, Meagan Good is choosing to put herself first.

"I've learned to not be as much of a people pleaser," the 40-year-old told PEOPLE earlier this week at a Hollywood Confidential event honoring her career. "I've learned that not everybody's going to get you or like you, and that's okay. And knowing who your tribe is and being really thankful for that, and knowing sometimes they're not your tribe — that's okay too."

She continued that she is focused on "loving and treating people with respect regardless, and never letting how people treat you change the integrity of who you want to be. I think in this season especially, I'm learning to live again in a different way."

Since Good filed for divorce from DeVon Franklin, her husband of nine years, in December 2021, the actress is also making a point to practice a lot of gratitude.

RELATED VIDEO: Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin to Divorce

"It's been a lot of changes like going through a divorce and having a hit TV show where I'm playing the character of my dreams and having massive support from Amazon," the Harlem star told PEOPLE.

Good also joining the Director's Guild of America and served as executive producer on the ALLBLK streaming service's new dramedy À La Carte.

"It's like, 'All right, Lord. I'm walking this out, figuring it out,'" she continued. "It's just about being present and being really thankful and just taking everything in as it's coming. I think that's the biggest thing for me in the season [is] just being present and every single day and being really thankful for my quality of life and the people I get to do life with."

RELATED: Everything Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin Said About Their Relationship: 'Marriage Is Work, Every Day'

Of course, even as many around Good see the actress thriving and transforming, she tries to stay grounded — a lesson she learned from her mother.

"My mom was always very clear about being humble, about not believing your own hype and having an identity outside of being an actress," she said.

meagan good
meagan good

Nicolette Carney Actress Meagan Good on stage accepting the Icon Award from Hollywood Confidential.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Good is excited to open a new new chapter in her life — with or without a script.

"I'm excited about what's next and I feel very hopeful," Good says. "Life is not just short, it's precious and so I am just being really intentional about being present."

She notes, "Even right now, I don't technically have place to live. I go stay with my mom, but technically I'm just floating and there's something really cool about that because now when I start Harlem the next week, I'm just going to move to New York for those months without a base anywhere. I'll see what happens after that."

Season 1 of À La Carte is now streaming on ALLBLK.