Podcasts > NPR's Book of the Day > Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

By NPR (podcasts@npr.org)

Tennis legend Venus Williams bares her soul in her new book "Strive," sharing eight principles she lives by to maintain overall wellness—from mindful self-observation to stress-management through practices like gratitude and balance. NPR's Book of the Day podcast delves into Williams' transparency about her journey of overcoming fears, embracing her Sjogren's syndrome diagnosis, and ultimately learning to slow down and put self-care first.

Far from the typical athlete's memoir, this episode explores Williams' guide to finding balance between life's passions and life-sustaining rest. With insights gleaned from her own challenges in managing an autoimmune disease while pursuing a superstar career in tennis and ventures in fashion and business, Williams offers a personal roadmap to nurturing physical and mental health.

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

1-Page Summary

Venus Williams' Multifaceted Career

Venus Williams is celebrated both as a legendary tennis champion with numerous Grand Slam titles and Olympic medals, as well as a successful entrepreneur with diverse business ventures in fashion, interior design, and nail art, showcasing her varied passions beyond sports.

Venus' 8 Steps to Well-Being

In her new book "Strive," Williams outlines eight principles she lives by to maintain her physical, mental, and emotional health:

  1. Observe yourself mindfully
  2. Appreciate the positives
  3. Balance work and rest
  4. Enrich your life continuously
  5. Soothe stress through practices
  6. Believe in your abilities
  7. Inspire yourself and others
  8. Let go of burdens

She shares her journey transparently, hoping to inspire others to find their own "awesome" through these steps covering self-care strategies like gratitude, balance, and overcoming fears.

Managing an Autoimmune Disease

Williams reveals being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease, forced her to shift from "powering through" challenges to prioritizing rest and self-care to manage her condition while continuing her athletic career. Initially worried about appearing weak, her mother encouraged her to be open, which has since helped many others with Sjogren's.

Learning to Slow Down

Williams acknowledges finding balance as one of her biggest challenges, often taking on too much. She's learned to slow down, prioritize her well-being through self-observation and letting go of setbacks as just moments, not endpoints. Her health condition has further reinforced the necessity of balance, mindfulness, and self-care in Williams' life.

1-Page Summary

Additional Materials

Actionables

  • You can create a "Balance Journal" where you track your daily activities and reflect on how they contribute to your overall well-being. Start by dividing the journal into sections for physical, mental, and emotional health. Each day, jot down the activities you do that fit into these categories, such as exercise for physical health, reading for mental health, and connecting with loved ones for emotional health. At the end of the week, review your entries to identify areas where you might be overextending yourself and adjust accordingly to find a better balance.
  • Develop a "Gratitude Map" by selecting a space in your home to display notes, photos, or objects that represent things you're grateful for. This could be a bulletin board, a digital photo frame, or a dedicated shelf. Whenever you experience a moment of gratitude, add a representation of it to your map. This visual and interactive practice can serve as a daily reminder to focus on the positive aspects of your life, fostering a habit of gratitude.
  • Initiate a "Fear-Facing Challenge" where you commit to tackling a small fear each month. Write down a list of fears or discomforts you want to overcome, ranging from speaking up in meetings to trying a new fitness class. Each month, choose one fear to focus on and create a plan to address it, such as preparing points for a meeting discussion or booking a class and inviting a friend to join you. Document your experiences and reflect on the growth you achieve by stepping out of your comfort zone.

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

Venus Williams' multifaceted career and background

Venus Williams is celebrated not just as a tennis legend but also as a successful entrepreneur who has built a diverse portfolio of business ventures showcasing her entrepreneurial spirit and wide range of interests.

Venus Williams is a renowned tennis champion, having won numerous Grand Slam titles and Olympic medals over her 30-year career

Venus Williams has made an indelible mark on the world of tennis. Over her illustrious 30-year career, Williams has accrued seven Grand Slam singles titles, teamed with her sister Serena to win 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, and clinched four Olympic medals, further solidifying her place in the annals of sports history.

She has also pursued various business ventures, including fashion, interior design, and nail art, showcasing her diverse interests and entrepreneurial spirit

Beyond her on-court achievements, Williams has also launched successful businesses, reflecting her passion for creativity and design. Her entrepreneurial endeavors extend into the realms of fashion, where she operates clothing lines; interior design, offering her aesthetic vision through her design company; and even nail art, showcasing her creativity and understanding the importance of personal branding.

While primarily known as a tennis star, Williams has always had many other projects and passions beyond the sport

Williams' life and career encompass more than just the pursuit of tennis championships. Her off-court engagements reveal an individual whose in ...

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Venus Williams' multifaceted career and background

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Actionables

  • Explore a new hobby by dedicating one hour each week to learning something unrelated to your current profession or main interests, mirroring Venus Williams' diverse pursuits beyond tennis.
  • By setting aside a specific time each week, you create a routine that can lead to discovering a passion or skill you never knew you had. For example, if you've always been curious about fashion, take an online course in fashion design or start a small project like customizing your own clothes.
  • Start a "lessons learned" journal where you reflect on your experiences and the insights you've gained, akin to how Venus Williams shared her life lessons in her book "Strive."
  • This practice can help you identify patterns in your successes and failures, leading to personal growth. For instance, after a challenging day, write down what happened, how you reacted, and what you could do differently in the future.
  • Create a mini-partne ...

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

The 8 principles or steps outlined in Williams' book "Strive"

"Strive," the book by Venus Williams, presents eight steps or guiding principles that Williams follows to sustain her physical, mental, and emotional health. Each step encapsulates self-care and personal growth strategies that Williams believes are integral to finding one's "awesome."

The book details the 8 steps, or guiding principles, that Williams lives by to maintain her physical, mental, and emotional well-being

The 8 steps are: observe, appreciate, balance, enrich, soothe, believe, inspire, and let go

In her book, Williams details these eight steps as a framework for living a rewarding life. She emphasizes the importance of observation to gain self-awareness, appreciation for drawing positivity, finding balance between work and play, enriching one's own life and those of others, using soothing practices to manage stress, believing in oneself, inspiring through action, and the ability to let go of things that no longer serve personal growth.

Williams shares both her successes and failures in her journey, hoping to inspire others to find their own "awesome"

Williams does not shy away from detailing both the highs and lows of her journey. She includes her successes to offer inspiration, and her failures as lessons, hoping readers can learn what to avoid. Through her honesty, she aims to help others embrace these principles to find their own path to well-being and success.

The steps ...

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The 8 principles or steps outlined in Williams' book "Strive"

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Counterarguments

  • The steps may not be universally applicable as individual circumstances vary greatly; what works for one person, even a successful athlete like Williams, may not work for another.
  • The principles are quite broad and may lack specificity, which could make practical application challenging for some readers.
  • The concept of balance can be subjective and difficult to define, as work-life balance looks different for everyone and can change over time.
  • The idea of "letting go" might oversimplify complex emotional processes, such as grieving or dealing with trauma, which often require professional support.
  • The steps could be seen as idealistic, and some individuals might find them difficult to implement in the face of systemic issues or personal constraints.
  • The notion of self-belief and inspiration might not address deeper issues of mental health that could requi ...

Actionables

  • You can create a "Balance Journal" where you track your daily activities and categorize them as work, leisure, or self-improvement to visually assess how you're distributing your time. By doing this for a week, you'll be able to identify patterns and make informed adjustments to achieve a better work-life balance.
  • Start a "Gratitude Chain" with friends or family where each person texts something they're grateful for to the group every morning. This not only cultivates a habit of appreciation but also creates a positive support network that encourages everyone to notice and share the good in their lives.
  • Develop a "Let-Go List" where you write down things that are causing you stress or negative emo ...

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

Williams' personal experience with an autoimmune disease and its impact on her approach to health and wellness

Venus Williams describes how being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease, necessitated a significant shift in how she manages her health and approach to her tennis career.

Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease, which challenged her previous approach of "powering through" challenges

Williams discusses the challenges of living with Sjogren's syndrome and the stark realization that her previous approach of "powering through" was not going to suffice in managing her condition. She came to understand that her wellbeing required a more balanced approach with careful attention to lifestyle changes, including prioritizing rest and self-care, in order to maintain her athletic performance and compete at the highest levels of tennis.

She realized she needed to make lifestyle changes, such as resting more and prioritizing self-care, in order to manage her condition and continue her athletic career

In order to return to tennis and continue competing, Williams stresses that moments of rest became crucial. These adjustments in her lifestyle were essential for managing her symptoms and were significant departures from the more relentless routine she had been accustomed to as a professional athlete.

Sharing her diagnosis was not easy for Williams, as she worried it would be seen as a weakness by her opponents

Initially, Williams found it extremely difficult to be transparent about her diagnosis. She was acutely aware of the perceptions of vulnerability such an announcement might bring, especially among her opponents on the tennis court. Williams was concerned that revealing her dia ...

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Williams' personal experience with an autoimmune disease and its impact on her approach to health and wellness

Additional Materials

Actionables

  • You can create a personalized health dashboard to track your well-being and identify patterns that may indicate a need for more rest or self-care. Use a simple spreadsheet or a free mobile app to log daily energy levels, sleep quality, diet, exercise, and any symptoms you experience. Over time, this data can help you make informed decisions about when to take breaks and how to adjust your lifestyle to better manage your health.
  • Start a small, informal support group with friends or colleagues to discuss health and wellness challenges. This can be as simple as a monthly coffee meet-up or a group chat where you share experiences, tips, and encouragement. By fostering a supportive environment, you can help each other stay accountable to self-care goals and create a safe space to discuss health issues without fear of judgment.
  • Develop a ...

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Venus Williams' new book 'Strive' is a personal guide to physical and mental health

The importance of balance and self-care in Williams' life and the lessons she has learned

Tennis star Venus Williams shares her personal journey towards finding balance and emphasizes the significance of self-care, reflecting on her life's challenges and the lessons she's learned about well-being.

Williams acknowledges that finding balance in her life has been one of the most challenging steps for her, as she often takes on too many responsibilities at once

Venus Williams openly admits that achieving balance can be difficult, especially when she tends to take on more than she can handle. She has learned through experience the importance of slowing down and taking time for herself. Williams stresses that it's essential to make decisions that prioritize her well-being.

She has learned the importance of slowing down, taking time for herself, and making decisions that prioritize her well-being

Williams shares a poignant lesson from when she was 19 and competing at the US Open, a moment that taught her about overcoming fears and the importance of self-observation. This experience falls in line with two of the eight steps in her book: observe and let go. She reveals that treating failure as merely a moment rather than an end point is a crucial portion of self-care and essential for personal growth.

Willia ...

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The importance of balance and self-care in Williams' life and the lessons she has learned

Additional Materials

Actionables

  • Create a "balance sheet" for your life to visually map out your responsibilities and self-care activities. Just like a financial balance sheet, list all your current responsibilities on one side and your self-care activities on the other. This will help you see where you might be overcommitted and where you can incorporate more self-care. For example, if you notice you have a heavy workload during the week, schedule short breaks for meditation or a walk to ensure you're taking time for yourself.
  • Develop a "failure resume" to document and reflect on your setbacks and what you learned from them. Instead of a traditional resume that highlights successes, this document will focus on failures and the growth that came from them. For instance, if you tried a new workout routine and couldn't stick to it, write it down and note what it taught you about your preferences or scheduling needs ...

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