#021 - "We Just Need It To Be Possible" - Emmy Award Winning Speaker, Tim Alexander, On the Role of a Growth Mindset in Recovery
AdaptX Podcast · AdaptX
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Show Notes
This week, Brendan Aylward travelled to New Hampshire for a live session with Tim Alexander, a disability advocate, keynote speaker, and athlete who recently received an EMMY award for his work on “Ever Faithful--The Resurrection of UAB Football”. Since becoming paralyzed in 2006, Tim has devoted his career, lifestyle, and mindset to the growth of himself and the disability community through community engagement and advocacy. Listen along as Tim and Brendan discuss Tim's involvement with the YMCA, the importance of a growth mindset, and perspective after injury.
Episode 21 Chapters:
00:46 - The YMCA’s Role in Tim’s Recovery
7:50 - Tim’s Role Models
9:04 - Finding Bright Spots in the Gym
9:29 - Accepting New Opportunities as an Adaptive Athlete: Wheelchair Basketball at the University of Alabama
13:38 - The Lakeshore Foundation
14:07 - Differing Lived Experiences: Acquired Disability vs. Lifelong Disability
18:07 - Disability Etiquette and Maintaining Respectful Relationships
23:11 - Tim’s EMMY
29:19 - “My Opposition is My Inspiration”
33:07 - Making Fitness Accessible and Inclusive
Key Takeaways:
- “Going back to the basics” is an essential part of recovery for many: reassessing your resources and the way you approach day-to-day life allows for the gradual adjustment to a new way of interacting with your environment.
- Demystifying disability is a key component in fostering inclusive fitness environments. By integrating the disability population into normative settings, gym owners are able to incrementally create and implement accessible systems in their facility.
- “My opposition is my inspiration”: not only did disability offer Tim a new perspective and a new way of living, but it also instilled a sense of mental toughness into him. Each morning, he has to mentally prepare himself for the unexpected challenges that he may inherently face as a person with a disability within an inaccessible world. He prepares to be constantly diligent in order to traverse social and physical environments that do not consider the specific needs of individuals with disabilities.