As we celebrate International Black Women’s History Month, it is our distinct honor to introduce you to Speaker, Sports Therapist, and Life Strategist, Zahara Williams.
Zahara Williams is a Speaker, Sports Therapist, and Life Strategist. An 18-year career has afforded Zahara the opportunity to hone skills in the area of human behavior and gain an analytical lens of how people relate to, succeed within, and experience challenges within systems. Serving in a myriad of roles, from adjunct lecturer, consultant, team lead, clinical supervisor, continuing education provider and conference speaker helps Zahara to have a unique lens into the intersection between people and systems.
As a life strategist and curator of ideas, she fuses clinical expertise with her passion for program development. Zahara offers insightful and engaging content that guides audiences through an exploratory process that increases awareness and serves as the catalyst for change. Zahara’s expertise lies in cultivating transparency, stress management, cultural competence, conflict resolution, and achieving balance in life. Her goal is to engage audiences by taking them on a thought-provoking journey that leads to introspective work.
Influential People News readers, please enjoy our interview!
What has your career as a Sports Therapist & Life Strategist been like so far?
Zahara: Crafting a space for athletes and mental wellness has been a journey, but one that continues to evolve, as new opportunities and connections, are beginning to take shape. When I initially entered this realm, it was a degree of uncertainty; while the therapy came easy, the networking and strategic planning to be in spaces to reach an audience that I know from past encounters struggles with identity beyond the sport, vulnerability, betrayal, performance anxiety, unresolved trauma, setting healthy boundaries, as well as developing and sustaining healthy relationships, was more of a challenge and for transparency, still a work in progress.
What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?
Zahara: I enjoy witnessing the journey of transformations that my clients experience. To go from isolation, experiencing uncertainty, and tumultuous patterns in their personal relationships, to see increased self-awareness, the ability to not be tethered to past versions of themselves and hone the gifts that they have and use them to create opportunities in their personal and work life.
As a Speaker, what have been some topics you’re extremely passionate about?
Zahara: I have 3 that really speak to me. In no particular order, I am an advocate for cultivating transparency, so quite a bit of my work is related to the healing power of transparency. Many people shy away from it because of fear of how others may receive them or making what I deem a unilateral decision about someone else’s capacity to handle the truth. I like to dive in and talk about how we can unpack these fallacies, show up as our authentic selves, and have healthy and transparent dialogue that leads to clarity vs fueling anxiety with unconfirmed narratives. Another topic that is near and dear is “After Betrayal”, it’s the knowledge that your life is not defined by any one experience and that there are ways to navigate the road ahead without the weight of pain from the past. Last, but certainly not least, is “Permission To Grieve”. It is because so many are taught how to accumulate things, but rarely introduced to strategies on what healthy grieving entails so that they do not internalize the pain and find themselves emotionally distant and operating on autopilot.
What are you working on as of late?
Zahara: I have a few irons in the fire so to speak. I am currently in the final stages of a workbook that is mirrored after one of my talks, entitled “After Betrayal”. I am also working on promoting my newly launched coaching program for athletes known as “Pressure Vault Coaching”. Given that athletes are often under an immense amount of external and internal pressure, it’s intended to be a space for them to learn practical strategies to navigate the pressures and develop a strategic plan for life while immersed in and beyond the sport.
What else would you like our readers to know about you and the work that you do?
Zahara: I am excited about what’s next on the agenda, as I am seeking to develop partnerships with universities to offer a workshop series with components of the Pressure Vault Coaching to collegiate teams.
In what ways do you aspire to use your resources, influence, and services in the future?
Zahara: The work that I do is focused on supporting others as they navigate the unexpected ebb and flows that are a part of the life journey. In an ideal world, we would all be well equipped, but from a communal standpoint, there is a degree of healthy interdependence. While there are those that will facilitate transformation in finance, physical health, parenting, etc I choose to stay the course and utilize the knowledge, skills, and experiences to craft space for athletes and others I encounter to move from stagnation, uncertainty, unresolved grief, and trauma, to evolve into the version of themselves that they need excel in the particular season of their lives. I aspire to continue collaborating with others in a quest to dispel myths about mental health and normalize athletes seeking support, without guilt, fear, or shame.
Get connected online:
https://instagram.com/zahararayne
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahara-williams-lcsw
https://www.facebook.com/zrayne20
Websites:
https://www.pressurevault.com/
About The Author
