4 Major Life Lessons We’ve Learned from Will & Jada Pinkett Smith
Once upon a time, Will Smith represented goofy boyish charm and corny jokes—a beacon of saccharine childhood memories from a time when reality television and Instagram had yet to taint our concepts of “entertainment
Photo: Wikimedia/Dominick D
Once upon a time, Will Smith represented goofy boyish charm and corny jokes—a beacon of saccharine childhood memories from a time when reality television and Instagram had yet to taint our concepts of “entertainment.” And his wife, of course, was always more than a simple piece of arm candy—she was the slick talking little thing who once held her own in gangster movies and in the real-life role of Tupac Shakur’s best friend.
Today, however, one of the world’s hottest couples has become something of a couple of life coaches. As they continue to raise their quirky, talented, and whip-smart kids, they also kind of continue to raise us. We’ve gone from laughing and crying with them, to turning to them for advice. Let’s break down the four biggest lessons we’ve recently learned from Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
The Difference Between Fault + Responsibility.
If you have yet to follow @willsmith on Instagram, now is the time to run—don’t walk and do so. In a recent Highlight, Will offers a truly game-changing perspective on the difference between fault and responsibility. And we’ve used it to break down almost every dating challenge we’ve had since. It’s worth the watch, but in short, we learned that while the things that happen to us are not our fault—it is our responsibility to learn, grow, and persevere.
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No Matter How Old You Get, Never Pass Up a Moment to Dance.
In his trip to Cartagena, we saw Will get down to Champeta. Whether he knew what he was doing or not – and despite his clearly not-so-young-anymore knees—he took an opportunity to embrace Colombian culture and truly do what he knows how to do best: have fun. A lot of times we may travel the world and remain so focused on taking envy-inducing Instagram pictures that we forget to live a little. Will reminded us that the best shots come from really living.
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Self-Love is a Process.
In her new Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, Jada sits down with the feminine power in her family weekly to discuss hot topics. In the Body Confessions episode, Jada and her co-hosts (daughter, Willow Smith, and mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris) discuss the things they love and hate about their body. After revealing her recent bouts with hair loss and that her body has changed shapes many times in her life, Jada asks her daughter about whether she’s learned to accept her “cute little body.” Viewers are treated to a special moment as the women reflect on the things that they struggled to love but are learning to accept about themselves as their bodies evolve and change. We learn that while changes in the feminine body are inevitable over time, our ability to love and accept ourselves can become a part of that process.
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Friendship Between Women of Color is a National Treasure.
In one of the most talked about episodes of Red Table Talk, Gabrielle Union sits down with Jada to discuss their relationship. While the content of the episode provides a juicy glimpse of life “behind the scenes” in the mind of an A-list Hollywood actress, the context showed us something even more important. By choosing to come together to reveal the truths behind their experiences as women of color and acknowledging that they are “in this together,” Jada and Gabrielle showed us how powerful women of color can be when they authentically hold each other up and root for one another. It was the reminder about sisterhood we never knew we needed.
