I Wanted to Quit Tennis Until I Realized This | EP39

Have you ever felt like you were getting better at something, and then suddenly you got worse?

In this episode, I share a recent experience with tennis that almost made me want to quit. After weeks of improvement, I took a short break and when I came back, everything felt off. My focus was gone. My shots were inconsistent. And I started questioning everything. 

This episode is about what I realized next—about joy, pressure, growth, and the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Because maybe growth doesn’t look like constant progress. Maybe it looks like choosing to keep going even when it feels like you’re going backwards.

You don’t have to be perfect to keep going. You just have to keep going.

Transcript

How I Met Jesus — Episode 39

I Wanted to Quit Tennis Until I Realized This      

Hi, this is Elena.

Welcome back to How I Met Jesus.

Recently, I had a moment where I almost gave up something I really enjoy.

Tennis.

For the past two years, tennis has been a big part of my life. And a couple months ago… I was actually playing really well. I practiced four to five times a week. I could feel myself improving. Even my coach noticed it. He told me I had made a lot of progress. And for a moment… I felt proud.

But then… I got tired. My body hit the wall. So I decided to take a break for one week. And when I came back…Everything felt different. My level dropped. I couldn’t focus on the ball. I kept hitting out. I couldn’t control my strength. And suddenly… I felt like I had gone backwards.

And that was really frustrating. Because in my mind, I was thinking:

“I’ve been playing for two years already.”

“Why am I still not good enough?”

“I’ve put in so much effort…why am I still not playing well?” 

And around the same time, I asked my coach if I could level up from intermediate to advanced. Because I thought playing with stronger players would help me improve. But he said no. He told me I wasn’t ready yet. And that moment…really hit me. I felt discouraged. I started questioning everything.

“Do I really need to keep doing this?”

“I’ve spent so much time… and money…”

“I’m not trying to win competitions.”

“I’m not going to make a career out of this.”

“So what’s the point?”

And honestly…there were moments when I really wanted to quit. But then…I paused.

And I asked myself a different question.

“Why did I start playing tennis in the first place?”

And the answer was very simple.

Not for medals. Not for money. But for joy.

Because when I’m on the court…I feel free. I can let go of everything else. Stress. Pressure. Thoughts.

I’m just there. At the moment. Playing. Feeling. Living.

And that made me realize something. Maybe I was starting to approach tennis the wrong way. I had turned something I loved…into something I needed to prove myself through.

And once I saw that…I made a decision. To let go of the pressure. To let go of the expectation. To just enjoy it again.

And my coach told me something that really stayed with me. He said:“Tennis doesn’t improve in a straight line. It’s a curve.”

And that made so much sense. Because I expected my progress to always go up. But in reality…growth goes like this—up, down, plateau, and then up again.

So I adjusted my mindset. And I kept playing. I even started joining some small matches and leagues. And before…I used to be afraid of competing. I thought I wasn’t good enough. But after playing more… I started to see it differently.

Competition is not a test. It’s just another form of practice. And somewhere along the way…I stopped caring so much about the result, but started asking:“Did I grow?” I realized that more than anything, I just want to become better. Not better than someone else. Just better than who I was yesterday.

And honestly…today I’m so grateful that I didn’t quit tennis two months ago. Because now, I can clearly feel the difference. Not just in my game. But in myself. I can feel myself improving. And I can feel people around me noticing it too.

And looking back now…that discouraged version of me…the one who wanted to quit, was probably standing right at the edge of a barrier. And thank God…I didn’t stop there. I kept practicing. I kept showing up. And somehow…I crossed it. Because if I had quit…I would never have known what was waiting on the other side. Sometimes the moment we want to give up…is the moment we are closest to breaking through.

Yesterday, I was talking with my pastor. I shared this whole experience with him. And he said something that really surprised me. He said, “you have grit.”  And I paused. Because I had never thought of myself that way.

And recently, I’ve been reading a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. It talks about two ways of thinking: A fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

And I realized…this tennis experience was showing me exactly that. If I chose to quit  because I felt discouraged—that would be a fixed mindset. But if I chose to keep going…to adjust, to learn, to grow—that’s a growth mindset. And this doesn’t just apply to tennis. It applies to everything. Work. Business. Life.

Because every time something doesn’t work…I have a choice. I can say:

“I’m not good enough.”
“I can’t do this.”
“This isn’t for me.”

Or…I can say:

“Something didn’t work.”

“So what can I learn?”

“What can I adjust?”

Failure doesn’t mean I’m not capable. It means there’s something I haven’t figured out yet. And maybe…growth is not about never falling. It’s about choosing to keep going even when you do. So right now, I’m still learning. Still practicing. Still getting better…not just at tennis— but at how I see myself. And maybe that’s what really matters.

Let’s pray.

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the lessons hidden in everyday moments. Even in something as simple as tennis. Thank You for showing me that growth is not linear. And that failure does not define me.

Lord, help me continue to choose growth. Not perfection. Not performance. But growth. Give me the strength to keep going when I feel discouraged.

And remind me that every step— even the difficult ones— is part of the journey.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

I believe there will be more barriers ahead. In tennis. There will be more frustrating days. More plateaus. More moments when I feel stuck again. And life will be the same. Business will be the same. There will be setbacks. Disappointments. Moments where I question myself. Moments where I wonder if I’m really good enough.

But now, I’m not as afraid of those moments anymore. Because I know—difficulty doesn’t mean I’m failing. It doesn’t mean I’ve reached my limit. And it doesn’t mean I should stop. Sometimes, it simply means I’m standing at the edge of another breakthrough. And maybe growth isn’t about never hitting barriers. Growth is learning not to run away from them. Because now I know: Just because I hit a barrier…doesn’t mean it’s the end. Sometimes…it means I’m closer than I think.

Thank you for being here and listening. If this episode resonated with you, feel free to share it with someone who might need it. And if you have your own story, testimony, or questions, I would truly love to hear from you.

Until next time, take a deep breath…and remember — you are already loved.