Alicia Keys Talks Perfection And Learning To Value Herself
Alicia Keys has been opening up about her journey to self-care. Since the launch of her skincare brand Keys Soulcare, the 15- time Grammy award-winner has been more vocal about her life experiences and how it has shaped her to become the person she is today. In a cover story with Fast Company, the musician/mogul is once again speaking about what she’s learned about herself over the years.
"I value myself now, and I think for a lot of years, I didn't," she said. "I learned that in order for me to be the most productive, I have to be well. I prioritize myself in a way that I just didn't [before]."
The singer and songwriter became a breakout star at 20-years-old with her mega-hit “Fallin’” and with her fame quickly rising more eyeballs were on her and so was the pressure to be perfect.
"I think we all deal with this idea that we're supposed to be perfect in some way. The same thing happened to me when I was 20. You don't even know who you are at 20. You're a little bit of what your mama told you. You're a little bit of what the world told you. And then you're supposed to go off into the world," she said.
In her 2020 memoir More Myself, Alicia recounted the time she broke down in tears in a dressing room in 2006 after her need to be perfect started to take a toll on her. “Amid the constant moving…the constant pleasing and pretending, I’d delivered my grandest performance yet: convincing the world that, behind my smile, all was as perfect as it appeared,” she wrote.
She also had a bout with depression, Peoplereported. “I was feeling so sad all the time, and I couldn’t shake it,” she said. “I started burying my feelings, and it got to a point where I couldn’t even tell my family or my friends, ‘I’m twisted,’ or ‘I’m exhausted,’ or ‘I’m so angry.’ … I became a master of putting up the wall so that I was unreadable.”
Now, she’s able to enjoy the “simple things” in life such as spending time with her family.
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‘Sistas’ Star KJ Smith Reveals How She Learned The Value Of Divine Timing
Actress KJ Smith's inspiring journey within the entertainment industry is a testament to how believing in oneself and trusting in divine timing can pave the way for success.
Over the years, Smith, whose acting career began in 2009, has appeared in various television shows and films before landing her leading role in BET's Sistas in 2019.
Since then, the 38-year-old's success has skyrocketed as she starred in other projects, such as Fatal Affair alongside Nia Long and Omar Epps, The Family Business, and Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Smith recently opened up about her experience during Black Love's The You Retreat discussion panel.
KJ On Success
In the panel last month, Smith revealed that despite her past achievements, she doesn't consider success to be a linear path but rather a continuous process.
The star shared that she gained this logic through the numerous times she auditioned for roles and has either received rejections or landed job opportunities. During that process, Smith added that she learned that if something was ordained in her life, that said thing would come to her.
"I think the phrase ‘made it’ is a little deceiving. It's a process of continuing to make it. How you know it's for you is when it's undeniable," she said.
KJ On Divine Timing
As the conversation continued, Smith recalled a particular moment when she didn't land an undisclosed role she thought was destined for her and expressed how heartbroken she was.
Still, the actress preserved and ultimately got the next gig she auditioned for a day after reading for that role.
"Actually, my first pilot, it was written for a white male, and at the time, I had just lost out on a role I had tested for. For something that I was like, 'This is actually me!' I tested for it, didn't get it. At the time, I was so heartbroken, " she explained.
“The next thing I booked... it was the quickest audition I had ever done. I literally went into the room. I did one scene, and then the next day, they were like, 'You're booked. We need you to fly to New Orleans.'"
Later, Smith mentioned that since that moment occurred in her life, she had shifted her mindset about not receiving certain things and that divine timing plays a role in "everything."
"That was mine, and no one else could have had that. That belonged to me, so now I'm like, 'No, it's going to be good thing, after good thing, after good thing, after good thing. Because nothing happens to me, everything happens for me," she said.
Smith continues to inspire her fans by using her social media platform to spread the message about trusting God's plan for one's life.
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