Negativity – it’s that unwanted energy that creeps its way into all of our lives at some point. It’s the worst place to be when you continue to spiral down its negative loop. However, it comes down to how you cope with it and the way that you respond to its nasty grips.
Serena Williams. We all know her as one of the strongest tennis players around and one tough person. She gets a lot of negativity thrown her way and yet she still manages to keep bouncing back! How does she do this?
She keeps busy. Serena doesn’t allow negative criticism or energy to drag her down into that downward spiral. She keeps her mind calm and preoccupied. The tennis champ experiences a lot of noise. Thousands of fans gather to cheer her on at her tennis matches, but most times there’s a lot of ones who aren’t doing the same kind of cheering.
A lot of championships have resorted to sexism, racism, and criticism of Serena’s body – and let’s be clear, this kind of negativity would affect all of us. But somehow she still continues to rise above it. We can learn a lot from her.
Negativity Stops With Positive Actions
Serena says for her whole life she’s been told she’s too muscular, and that she isn’t pretty enough to be a tennis player. She wrote in an essay in 2017 that her confidence still never wavered. She’s a tennis star who makes it a priority to embrace her natural beauty and remains an advocate for women on and off the court, which is why she also supports the shaving startup, Billie. The company created a Project Body Hair campaign that went viral for tackling the once-traditional beauty taboo by putting female body hair on full display.
I know I often get frustrated at the fact that as a woman I have to pay so much more for my personal grooming products. Billie doesn’t believe in this either and states that women shouldn’t have to. Therefore, the company launched a subscription service that offers women shaving and body care products for an affordable price. This is a powerful fight against the ‘pink tax.’ I’m sure you can tell why Serena is now the proud inventor of the brand.
The brand empowers females and speaks to all other body brands. It creates awareness and tackles inequity directly. Just like Serena does in a heated tennis match. Williams says the shaving industry is dominated by male brands that have traditionally overcharged and underserved women. That’s why she’s so happy to be part of a company that’s putting women first.
Confidence And Body Shaming
As women, we often get shamed for many things on our bodies that we are born with naturally. Society has created an unfair expectation of how a woman should look or carry herself. Serena says women are often shamed for their body hair, among other things. And because she’s been an athlete in the public eye for many years, her personal image of her body has changed time and time again.
Serena says she’s been told constantly that she’s too muscular and not beautiful enough. She says she’s learned to ignore the negativity and look inwards truly loving herself. Serena realizes she’s in control of her feelings. That means she can focus on rising above the negative criticism and the unrealistic societal ideals placed on her. She tells Elle that she loves who she is…Her body, her skin, her confidence, and she fully embraces everything about herself.
Being Comfortable In Your Skin
Serena is all about self-love and that’s ultimately what’s going to help you remove negativity from your life. The thing is to now allow negativity in your life because once you do, it’s going to take over. She says she has no time for that mindset. Motherhood helps Serena deal with it too. She uses it as a positive focus to distract her mind.
She says she’s got championships to win, a beautiful daughter to raise, an amazing husband to love, a fashion line to design, philanthropic work to do, boards to advise on, and family and friends to spend time with. That’s really all that matters most! Serena says her philosophy is:
‘If you don’t like the way I look, so what?” I love the way I look and the way I feel. Beauty comes from the inside out.’
Serena’s Secret To Building Confidence
The tennis star says confidence is built through trust. But this means trusting yourself. You can’t let the opinions of others define who you are or affect your self-esteem. On top of that, Serena says she is so fortunate to have a loving family who keeps her strong when she needs it most. On top of that, the support and encouragement of her fans is something that she holds very dear, and it keeps her driven.
Motherhood Beauty Secrets
No matter who you are, every woman needs to feel beautiful from within. When milestones like motherhood happen, we need to learn to find the products and routines that make us feel our best with ease and grace.
Since becoming a mother, Serena says she has put a lot of focus on ensuring the products she uses are natural, clean, and safe. She’s also found ways to simplify some of the routines. I think it’s best to keep your beauty routines, and any other ones simple! You can stick with them that way.
Serena says she keeps the process a little easier to squeeze in because the time she spends with her daughter is so special to her. It keeps her positive and far away from being affected by negativity of any kind. And when it comes to her beauty regimen, she won’t ever let it get in the way of that.
