Iga Swiatek channeled her inner child recently by partnering up with LEGO, and she talked about why that's important.
As a very young adult, Swiatek is still learning and finding her place in the world. She's largely been able to carve out a spot for herself as one of the best tennis players in the world, but it wasn't easy.
Part of being a good tennis player is being confident in her skills. 'Just be confident' is common advice, but it's pretty hard to live by that advice. Swiatek was able to do so even though there was pushback.
She recently explained how she was given instructions on how to behave and what to do, and she didn't accept those instructions. She bravely remained true to herself.
"Ever since I've started my journey with sports, I've heard other people's expectations about how I should play, how I should look, how I should behave, what I should do."
"The higher I was in the sport, the more there were. However, I never liked to close myself with certain limits, I wanted to base my belief and experiences, on my intuition."
"To me, self confidence means courage, among other things. Courage in trying new things and not giving up even after making a mistake, courage in being sensitive and expressing emotions."
She also touched upon why the partnership with LEGO means so much to her because she's familiar with the toys, and they allow kids to express themselves and explore, which is very important on the journey to finding yourself.
"This is why the LEGO campaign is so close to me because it shows that in order for children to believe in themselves, we adults should give them the opportunity to explore, build their world, their personality and support them when they make mistakes."