19/09/2023
A story on how to not give up: I climbed the greatest rock climb in the world after failing 3x ๐
In my twenties, I summited The Nose (the greatest multi-day rock climb in the world) in just two days.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
I was physically ready, and my skills were top-notch. What was the problem then?
My mind wasnโt there.
In one pitch, I used three ropes. The wind blew so hard that our ropes stuck to the rock. Pulling them up with me was a nightmare of friction & effort. I kept screaming for my partner to feed out more rope.
I stepped off the field.
I started thinking about what I needed to do in next year's training. How can I prevent this? I didn't realize I was looking for a way out. I stopped asking how to solve the following problem. I started thinking about explaining to my partners that we needed to quit.
๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ด๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ
Deep down, I knew I wasn't in danger. What I needed was a 15-minute pause. Then, I could see my mind generating shame and let it pass by. Instead, I bailed and blew my shot at the big wall for the year.
Unaware of my emotions and fears, I made air-tight logic to protect myself from experiencing discomfort.
Mentally, I stepped off the field.
Have you ever stepped off the field in your life or business?
Later, I realized what happened.
I strategized
โข When to schedule the next attempt?
โข How to spread out milestones beforehand?
โข How can we do it scared? (And stay safe enough).
โข How do I want to communicate with my next climbing partner.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐๐น.
You can't buy peak experience.
We earned that feeling. At that moment I knew anything was possible. With persistence, the right team, & strategy.
We did it scared.
This time, we floated upwards in just two nights. Our mantra was, "This is it! Look, we're doing it!" We set up our safety boundaries in advance. We agreed on precisely what objective conditions would result in us quitting.
Why share a climbing story on LinkedIn?
If you're reading this, maybe you've stepped off the field somewhere. Perhaps, like me, a little success made you more cautious. I believe we're capable of so much with clarity and strategy. (Even strategies for emotions).
I found stepping off the field blocked me in my climbing and career.
Is it blocking you?