Brent Alexander

serving up perspective //

smashing the doubt

Tag: Growth Mindset

Browse posts tagged with Growth Mindset—find strategies for developing resilience, overcoming challenges, and embracing continuous personal growth.

How To Build Mental Resilience On The Pickleball Court
Mental resilience: the ability to stay focused, composed, and confident in facing challenges. And it isn’t just for elite athletes. It’s a skill any level of player can build with intention and practice. Whether you’re grinding through a tough tournament or facing a frustrating rec match, these strategies can help you strengthen your mental game.

1. Train Your Focus Like a Muscle

Mental performance expert Dr. Erik Korem refers to mental fitness as something you build, not something you’re born with. His platform AIM7 emphasizes the importance of adaptive capacity: your ability to handle stress, recover, and remain sharp under pressure.

Just like your third-shot drop, focus requires repetition. Use short, focused drills in your practice to sharpen concentration. For example, set a goal to hit 10 cross-court dinks in a row without error. The moment your mind wanders, you’ll see it in your paddle. Over time, you’ll become more present during critical points in a match.

Try This: Between points, develop a reset ritual—a deep breath, paddle tap, or mantra like “One point at a time”—to stay locked in.

2. Detach From the Outcome

One of the biggest mental traps in pickleball is tying your worth to the score. When you’re winning, you feel great. When you’re losing, self-doubt creeps in.

Instead, shift your focus to controllable factors: effort, attitude, and decision-making. According to Paddletek’s mental training blog, the best players focus on the process, not just the result. Winning becomes a byproduct of consistent execution.

Reframe Your Thoughts:
- Instead of “I have to win this match,” try “I’m going to play smart, aggressive pickleball.”
- Instead of “I can’t miss this shot,” try “I’m going to trust my swing.”
3. Get Comfortable With Discomfort

A tough opponent, an off-day, or a windy court—these variables are out of your control. What you can control is how you respond.

In his podcast, Erik Korem highlights how embracing small doses of stress in training can expand your capacity to handle it in competition. This aligns with DUPR’s advice: lean into pressure situations. Practice tie-breaker scenarios. Drill while fatigued. Play games where you’re forced to go down 0-4 before the first serve.

Every uncomfortable rep becomes a deposit in your resilience bank.

4. Recover Like an Athlete

A resilient mind is a rested mind. When your nervous system is overloaded, performance drops. That’s why rest, sleep, and active recovery are non-negotiable.

AIM7’s approach to wellness emphasizes personalization: some players need a walk and a podcast, others need a nap. The key is listening to your body and giving your mind the rest it needs to stay sharp.

Bonus Tip: After a tough match, don’t rush into analysis. Take a breath, get some hydration, and give yourself time to reflect without judgment.

5. Build Your Inner Coach

Your self-talk is your secret weapon—or your biggest saboteur. Learn to speak to yourself like a supportive coach, not a harsh critic.

Instead of berating yourself for mistakes, try affirming your intention. “I missed that serve, but I love that I went for it.” This fosters confidence and keeps your emotional energy intact throughout the match.

Over time, you’ll develop a stronger inner voice—one that keeps you grounded, focused, and ready for the next point.

Final Thoughts

You can’t control your opponent. You can’t control the weather. But you can control how you show up mentally.

Mental resilience is what keeps you calm in chaos, focused under pressure, and positive through adversity. It’s a skill that not only elevates your game but enhances your experience of the sport. So next time you step on the pickleball court, remember: strength isn’t just physical–it’s in your mind.

Further Reading:
Start building your mental game today—and watch every other part of your game rise with it.

Photo Credit: MARK KAMIBAYASHIYAMA MEDIA
May 15, 2025
5K PR Fueled by Fiesta

Most people celebrate Cinco de Mayo with tacos and tequila. I celebrated mine with a free group run and a surprise PR.

The 5K run was hosted by Run In Greenville and New Balance, held at the always lively Double Stamp Brewery. It was one of those perfect spring evenings where the vibes were light and the energy was high. The kind of night where you show up expecting a social jog, and somehow end up racing the clock.

The real wildcard? New Balance brought some demos, and I couldn’t resist trying out the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4s. The moment I laced them up, my legs said “¡Vámonos!”

I wasn’t planning to push the pace, but the bounce in those carbon-plated super shoes said otherwise. Whether it was the shoe technology, the vibes from the crowd, or the Cinco magic—I found myself cruising faster than I’ve ever run a 5K.

Previous 5K PR: 26:13

Cinco de Mayo: Sub-26, baby.

Yeah, yeah, my Apple Watch says 3.09 miles. Haters can take it up with the GPS gods. The real takeaway? My pace was 7 seconds per mile faster than my previous PR, and I felt smooth the entire way.

Was it the shoes? The placebo? The CINCO magic?

Don’t know. Don’t care.

All I know is: FAST is FUN.

Big thanks to Run In Greenville, New Balance, and Double Stamp Brewery for putting on a great event. I’ll definitely be back for more group runs—and maybe another PR or two. 🌮✨

Photos by CITIZEN MEDIA CO. Full gallery here.

May 8, 2025
Freedom In Motion

“How many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free?”
– Dylan

55:08 | 10K | New PR

12 minutes faster than December.

I didn’t just run.
I broke loose.
From the weight I used to carry.
From the me that thought this wasn’t possible.

With every step, I remembered:
I’m allowed to fly.
The cage was never locked.

Freedom in motion.
Not just a mantra—
a reckoning.

I’m not finding myself.
I’m freeing myself.

I’m free to move
without asking for permission.
I’m free to chase what lights me up
instead of what weighs me down.
I’m free to live within my own cadence,
not someone else’s expectation.
I’m free to take up space.
Fully. Unapologetically.
I’m free to run toward myself,
not away from doubt.
I’m free to speak my truth.
Stand in my fire. Never shrinking back.
I’m free to become more me
with every step forward.
I’m free to define my own finish line
and to crush it on my own terms.

“How many roads must a man walk down?”
“How many years must a mountain exist?”
“How many deaths will it take till he knows?”
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.

Existence can be fleeting.
But it doesn’t have to be.

Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Change is the key to unlock destiny.

A fork in the road.
Rain on the mountain.
Sudden and unexpected loss.

Some bring bliss.
Some bring heartache.
All bring change.

And it’s up to the traveler to decide the road.
It’s up to the climber to choose the path.
It’s up to the survivor to keep moving forward.

It’s up to the soul to rise on the zephyr,
embracing what was always within reach.

This is my wind.
And with it, I fly.

April 23, 2025
Rory McIlroy: A Masterpiece, At Last

This is what it means to Rory McIlroy.

For over a decade, the Masters was the one that got away—the final brushstroke missing from an otherwise legendary career. Four majors by the age of 25. Dominance, elegance, and charisma in equal measure. And yet, year after year, Augusta remained elusive. A heartbreak in 2011. A dozen tries since. Whispers of what could have been, what should have been.

The career Grand Slam.

One of the rarest feats in golf—claimed by only five men in history. Rory had three legs of it for over a decade. He just needed one more walk up the 18th at Augusta in triumph.

But this… this is what it feels like to chase a dream through storms and silence. To carry the weight of expectation, of near-misses, of a jacket that never quite fit—until today.

And here’s the thing—this isn’t just Rory’s story. It’s ours, too.

You can have all the pieces. All the promise. But some dreams take time. They demand more than talent. They ask for patience, heartbreak, growth, and relentless belief. You might wonder if your window has closed—but what if it’s just not yet?

Rory didn’t just win the Masters. He joined the legends.
He completed the career Grand Slam.
He finished the story.

And in doing so, he reminded us: unfinished doesn’t mean failure. It means there’s still more to come. He kept showing up. Kept believing. Kept working. And when the moment finally arrived, it meant more because of the wait.

So if you’re chasing your own version of a Grand Slam—don’t stop.

The timeline is different for everyone. But persistence is undefeated.

Keep showing up. Keep doing the work. Let the dream take the time it needs.

When he stood on the 18th green, jacket draped over his shoulders, the crowd rising in applause—not just for the win but for the journey—you could see it in his eyes: relief, redemption, glory.

Well done, Rory.
A decade in the making.
A masterpiece, at last.

April 14, 2025
Alive On The Track

If you had shown me this photo a year ago and asked what it meant to me, I probably would’ve said, “It’s just a track.”

Now?
I see freedom.
I see the birthplace of a champion.
I see possibility.
I see the grind, the sweat, the growth—and the liberty to chase it all.

Purpose isn’t a destination. No one reaches the end of the road and says, “I’ve figured it all out.”

Meaning is made in motion—in the quiet moments, in the breath between steps, in the ever-evolving conversation between your soul, the ground beneath you, and something greater than us all.

The question isn’t “What’s my purpose?”
The question is: “What brings me alive—right now?”

And this picture, in this moment, means exactly that: Alive.

I feel it when my feet strike the track, when the crisp air fills my lungs, when the sun kisses my skin.
I feel it in the thunder of my heartbeat, in the silence of running alone.
There’s no crowd. No medal. Just me. And I feel more alive than ever.

Someone said to me today, “You don’t need to run. You’re skinny.”
I laughed and said, “Funny… my mom used to say the same thing.”
And I appreciate the sentiment—sort of.
But I don’t run to lose weight.
I run to feel alive.

A year ago, I was in the darkest mental space I’ve ever known. Disconnected. Numb. Drowning in the noise of my own mind.
I wasn’t in conversation with my soul—I wasn’t even listening.
And I sure as hell wasn’t free.

Since I started running, the conversations have returned.
Some of them are too raw to repeat.
But whether it’s the track or the trail, I’ve found something sacred in the discipline.

I’ve traded my chains of fear for the work.
And it’s the work that sets me free.

That’s the difference between a prisoner… and a champion.

April 10, 2025

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