Finding joy in life is extremely crucial! If anything or anyone deprives us of enjoyment and peace, perhaps it’s time for us to think a bit. Tennis legend, Serena Williams has often shared life lessons on how to find joy in work, motherhood, and pretty much everything else we regularly do in life. She’s the one who gave us the great quote – “Victory is temporary, but joy is eternal. Grateful for all of the joyful moments, big and small.” Williams has also stated that we must find the joys that make the journey worth it, but it’s not always easy to find what we seek. Recently, Serena Williams shared a cryptic message on life, and guess what? It revolves around finding joy and knowing when to walk away.

Ever since retiring from the sport, Williams has been busy spending time with her family and taking care of her business ventures. She regularly gives updates about her life on her social media. At times she even shares some valuable life lessons with her fans. Serena recently gave an update on her recovery after having a cyst removed from her neck.

“I am feeling so grateful, and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I’m healthy,” said Williams. However, interestingly, just a few days after that revelation she has now come up with a cryptic message on life. The 43-year-old tennis icon recently tweeted, “I don’t know who needs to hear this (maybe no one) but if someone, even someone close to you is robbing you of your joy it’s ok to walk away.“

Why did she say this all of a sudden? We don’t know, maybe it’s just another valuable life lesson she wanted to share with her fans. However, did you know there were instances where even Serena Williams found it hard to walk away from something that bothered her a lot?

“It’s always hard to walk away” – Serena Williams’ statement after retiring from tennis

Serena Williams has not just played tennis for almost 27 years, in fact, she dominated the game in every aspect! She won 73 career titles including 23 Grand Slam triumphs. It was not just a career, it was a fairytale! And just like every fairytale, it also had an end. In September 2022, Williams finally decided to bring an end to her glorious career. How tough was it for her to walk away from something that she loved the most?

“It’s been such a hard decision, you know. … It’s been a very hard decision cuz when you’re passionate about something and you love something so much, it’s always hard to walk away. Sometimes I think it’s harder to walk away than to not. And that’s been the case for me. So, I’ve been trying to decide for a little while what to do,” said Williams in an interview with ESPN.

Roger Federer’s words on Serena Williams also highlight how unwilling the player was to part ways with tennis. The Swiss legend felt that Serena Williams should have just simply walked away instead of dragging it further. Earlier this year, Federer shared his thoughts on Williams’ contentious exchange with the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos at the 2018 US Open final saying, “It’s a melange of all things, but at some point, I feel like Serena should have walked away. She did, but she went too far. She should have walked earlier.“

Well, Serena’s words come from her experience. And if incorporated properly, the legend’s advice may prove useful not only to athletes, but anyone faced with a dilemmatic situation.