12 Lessons From Kerry Washington On Being Your Best Self

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Kerry Washington turns 41 today. And as we’ve watched her thrive professionally, personally, and politically, we can say for sure the wife, mother, actress, and activist knows a thing or two about self-love and living in your purpose. In honor of her birthday, we’ve put together 12 of her most powerful quotes on embracing your own beauty, telling your story, and creating your journey on your own terms.

I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect and beautiful journey of my life.

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I have to do the work of self-love and affirmation, and say, “I am a woman, I am a person of color, I am the granddaughter of immigrants, I am also the descendant of slaves, I am a mother, I am an entrepreneur, I am an artist, and I’m joyful.” And maybe in seeing my joy, you can finish your sentence with, “And I am joyful too.”

Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.

You and you alone are the only person that can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell. And the world needs your story because the world needs your voice.

We need to be willing to be uncomfortable, to be flawed, to be imperfect, to own our voice, to step into our light, so that we can continue to inspire other people and employ other people, and make room for more and more voices and presence.

You can never control how people respond to your work. You can only control your own work ethic.

You can be the lead in your own life.

I just want [my daughter Isabelle] to know that she’s heard. Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want. When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I’ve made, all of which I’m grateful for, it’s because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn’t or wouldn’t be. I see you, I hear you, I’m with you as you are.

When I look in the mirror, I see an ever-unfolding process.

My deepest desire is to create a world where there’s room for all of us, where no matter who you are, you get to wake up in the morning and know that you are worthwhile and deserving. If that’s the world I want to live in, I have to do the work to make that true for me.