If you’re having a frustrating climbing session, here’s a thought:
Get pissed all you want, but that session is going to go by.
And guess what? The same is true of your day, your week and your life.
It’s not all that surprising that the biggest tools for becoming a more focused & effective climber are the same as the tools for becoming a more focused & effective person.
I am NOT saying I’m good at this shit.
Almost every day I have thoughts of being a fraud, of being a poser, of being weak and scrawny, of getting overly frustrated with my work and my own climbing. I can’t climb as hard as anyone, lift as much as anyone, all those people have more range and capacity than me, that guy flashed all my projects in a day.
Those folks are more eloquent, those ones are more succinct, those ones are word-for-word ripping off my hard work and those people over there are SO much more inventive and original than I am.
I feel like I’m letting people down, but also like I give people too much. I feel like I’m not trying nearly hard enough, but also like if I tried any harder I’d disintegrate. I get terminally frustrated that I can’t do more – in between feeling maxed out.
All these feelings have a central source: anxiety.
Even if you don’t subscribe to determinism, you’ll admit most things in life aren’t in our control. But to the extent that you can control how you feel by not dwelling on things, it sure feels nice to let go of the things you can.
Again, not saying I’m good at this. But it is useful to remember:
When you’re having a hard session, that session is going to go by no matter how you feel about it.
When you’re having a hard day, that day is going to go by, too.
And eventually, all those sessions and days add up to be your life.
Most people would admit that they want their life to be joyful, fulfilled, positive…
And maybe you can’t *make* yourself feel that way about a frustrating session. But zooming out sure helps.
Today is going to go by, whether you enjoy it or not. Up to you.
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I cross-posted the above from my Instagram. I’ll be moving more and more of my content off Instagram and to other platforms in the future as I refocus my coaching for 2024. One of those platforms is this blog, where I can say whatever I want and people can read it by choice rather than having it fed to them by a feed.
Another platform I’m moving to is the Camp 4 Patreon. Much of my long-form content like lectures and long posts are going to be there from now on. I’m also working with Camp 4 on longer-form videos about technical and tactical concepts.
If you want to support me and you’re not interested in my coaching options right now, consider joining the Patreon. If you’re cynical about paying for my content, consider what the alternative (free content) gets you. It gets you the current landscape of Instagram, rife with clickbait, conflict and misinformation. That is the price of free.
I’m more excited about longer content – it makes a bigger difference for people than shorthand crap, first of all. I’m also tired of competing with voices who are mostly interested in how loud they can shout and how much attention they can get, rather than the value in their message. I want to go deep into topics that are less-explored in the climbing coaching sphere, and to a good job of that I need to get paid. Getting paid means moving off the ad-driven platforms.
If you’re reading this, thanks for supporting me. I hope you’re having a wonderful 2024 so far!