Even though she was already hailed as one of the world’s greatest athletes, in 2016, Serena Williams was on the literal backfoot. At two consecutive major tennis tournaments, she’d reached the finals, and then lost. Her position as number one was slipping away, as was the possibility of breaking more records. When she made it through to the finals of Wimbledon, recent history must have weighed heavily on her mind. But instead of focusing on the major losses, Williams chose, instead, to focus on the many little wins that had brought her to the final. In the post-match interview, she shared how her internal dialogue in speaking directly to the worrisome history, carried her through to victory: ‘”If anything, I was able to show resilience, that, ‘no’, that’s not going…
