Lessons Learned From Mountain Climbers

 Lately, I have been watching documentaries on mountaineering.  There is something quite exhilarating about watching folks claiming huge mountains and rock faces, sometimes without ropes and gear but always with a belief in what they can achieve.  For the record, this fascination is in NO WAY a segue into a new hobby or pursuit - I simply admire the skill, determination, and beauty of the sport. 

The more documentaries and interviews I watch, the more parallels I find between rock climbing and life in general.  The following observations stood out the most to me as I reflected on these similarities.

1. Being present is key.  Yes, this may be a no-brainer but I felt that it was important to mention.  I have yet to see any of the climbers in these documentaries attempting to multi-task as they scale a rock face.  Instead, they are present, in the moment, exuding a sense of calm and control as if they are simply following a map of the route ahead of them.  Their movements are thoughtful and filled with grace.  They pause and reflect, make decisions, and then make their next move.  From the onlooker's point of view, there seems to be no sense of urgency or haste, only purpose and focus.  As I took this notion and reflected back on my own life, I could not find many moments where I was in this same zone.  I wondered at one point during a documentary if climbers ever get into an ascent and lose their focus or drive.  It is so easy for me to have that happen as I sit at my desk, flipping from the work at hand to a social media feed, not so much while on the side of a mountain, I suppose.

2.  Failure is part of success.  Aside from those folks who pursue free solo climbs (climbing without any ropes or gear aside from a chalk bag and climbing shoes), all of the climbers I have seen have moments where they don't make a reach or grab and end up falling down.  Failing is considered part of the journey and does not contribute to a sense of being a failure as a climber.  Imagine the freedom that would come with the ability to fail over and over again while not having to deal with negative feedback from others.  Imagine if all that failure signified was that you were trying to reach a goal that was hard and in order to do so, you needed to put yourself out there and push past the limits that you have established for your abilities.  Imagine the personal growth that would come with success after a few attempts and perceived failures along the way toward achieving a milestone or goal.  And imagine being part of a community of like-minded people who are all individually going through the same type of growth and who would support and encourage others as they work towards their dreams.

3.  It takes preparation, planning, and lots of hard work to achieve our biggest goals.  In exactly NONE of the documentaries that I have seen so far did any climber decide to scale a mountain on Monday, go there the following week, and then proceed to complete the climb.  Many of these epic climbs were years in the making, some spanning a decade or more.  What went into the lead-up to these expeditions?  Lots and lots of work, planning, and preparation.  As I reflected on my own life and the goals that I have set for myself, I started to notice something interesting.  My time horizons for many of these goals are quite short, and in most cases almost immediate.  I rarely have set a goal with an "achieve by" date of more than a year, unless circumstances dictate otherwise (race dates are often the main culprit here).   I then do some preparation and planning in the short time I have provided myself and go into the pursuit with much energy and drive, often feeling disappointed at my outcome or wishing that I could have had a better showing.  What these documentaries have made me realize is that by not giving myself a suitable time frame for reaching these goals, I am limiting what I can actually achieve.  This may be one of the most important learnings that I have come away with.  There is nothing wrong with setting a goal and also setting a reasonable timeline around its achievement.  Not everything in life needs to be immediate and big goals won't lose their luster if more time is provided to work toward them.  Moving away from the prevalent mindset of needing everything now and allowing the journey to be a bigger part of the achievement will shape some of the new goals that I set for myself going forward.

So where does this leave me?  With lots to ponder and more documentaries to watch.  And perhaps with some visits to the indoor climbing gym over the winter to get a taste of how satisfying failure can be.