Source: Simon M Bruty / Getty
“Everything that’s meant for me is for me.”
That’s what Olympic gold medalist Sha’Carri Richardson believes. Her belief in God’s plan for her life gives Richardson the confidence and strength to keep running her race, both on and off the track.
“My spirituality was the biggest thing that got me back to believing that no matter what’s going on, I’m meant to be me for a reason,” The track star told ESSENCE Magazine for their January/February cover story. “I do feel like what God has put onto my spirit, my mind and my heart is to fully embrace the role He’s put me in.”
God has put Richardson in some exciting/interesting roles throughout her life. She sprinted into our hearts when she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, just one week after the death of her biological mother. Since then, she cemented her legacy as one of the fastest women in the world, running all the way to the Paris 2024 Olympics where she clinched a silver medal in the 100 meter and a gold medal in the 4X100 relay.
But these days, Richardson is focused on understanding emotions and finding her way back to herself.
“Coming into this level of fame—I definitely had moments where I felt as if I would have to sacrifice who I am, in order to have a career, in order to be what the world had basically deemed me to be,” she said. “I wasn’t happy when I wasn’t being myself. Nothing was making me happy, because I wasn’t me. But the unhappiness is what got me back to myself.”
Sha’Carri Richardson’s journey is a lesson in self care and self love. Here are the gems we can take away from the track star’s commitment to healing, spirituality, and truly understanding herself.
1. Embrace the Healing Power of Therapy
Richardson has been seeing a therapist since her college years/days and continues to do so, seeing a Black woman with whom she believes “God connected her”
“I feel like therapy came from knowing that I needed it, and also being able to have a safe place to decompress—when I don’t have to worry about the world, or being an athlete, or being a friend, or being a daughter or anything. I could go into therapy and just be me,” she said. Just like for Richardson, therapy can be a useful tool help you get a better understanding of yourself and begin a healing journey.
2. Build a Strong Foundation of Family and Friends
A major source of motivation for Richardson is in the love of her family, consisting of her grandmother, godmother, aunts and sisters. “I have people that—I know that if I fall backward, they’re right there. I know I have a community right here that understands, that cherishes me, as well as will correct me and let me know when I’m wrong. My relationships have definitely helped me be gentle with myself,” Richardson says. “I feel like being with people who pour into me has shown me I’m everything that I know that I want to give out to the world—and I know I’m everything that I feel in myself.”
3. Cultivate a Spiritual Connection
“I feel like in my spirituality, I’m aligning myself with keeping my faith.” Having a connection to a higher power has helped Richardson find the light on particularly dark days in her life. Now, she’s embracing a new, brighter energy. “I’m in a loving energy. I love taking care of my family. I love taking care of my training partners. I just love the fact that I’ve been blessed to be in a position to show that divine energy. I just feel like everything in my life is brighter now.
4. Accept Your Emotions
Sha’Carri Richardson may seem stoic at the starting blocks, but she isn’t afraid to feel her feelings. In fact, it’s through learning to express her emotions that she gathers her strength. “Emotional stability is understanding myself—and expressing myself in a way that it can be received,” she said. “I always wear my heart on my shoulders; I always walk with my heart. My heart is my brain.”
Richardson reminds us not to let our emotions overcome us and distract us from the task at hand, but rather, use the feelings in our heart to motivate us. “I cannot walk into a race without fully feeling the emotions from training, or the emotions from the motivation, or the inspiration I get from my fans, my family. …As soon as my foot, my spike, hits the track, my heart confirms that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be and who I am.”
5. Be Yourself
If there’s anyone who is unapologetically themselves, it’s Sha’Carri Richardson. From her colorful wigs, to her Flo-Jo inspired nails, Richardson is the epitome of unapologetic Black Girl Magic.
“I’m here to show people that to be their fullest self is not an issue at all. And to continue to be their full selves in the bad moments, when you got a lot of naysayers, and in the good moments, when you got a lot of support—always remembering self-accountability, self-worth and self-reflection,” she said. By loving ourselves from the inside out, we free others as we let our own light shine.
As Richardson put it: “God has put me here to continue to be me, and truly and wholly be me. That way I can be a vessel for anybody that sees me, for them to do the same as well.”
DON’T MISS…
11 Simone Biles Quotes To Help Inspire You To Greatness
Channeling Your Inner Olympian: A 5-Day Workout Plan
