With climbing, there are so many life lessons that can be learnt and taught in ways that can’t be taught in school or even within the office.
It is a journey of life’s lessons all thrown in the act of the climb. When you begin to ascend, you have to figure how to reach the next level. And if you fail, you simply buck up and try again. Climbers of past and present can attest to the need for a “never-say-die” attitude that they need to build up when climbing.
But most sports in general will aim to train your willpower and improve physical levels in some way. What really makes climbing different from say, another sport, like cycling or running?
Well, just like how going to the gym does not suit everyone, climbing might not be for all. But climbing is an excellent teacher of life’s lessons.
Here’s what you will learn:
Lesson #1: Embrace new things – Take risks!
Climbers have a unique characteristic of wanting to try new things. Whether it be new routes or a different mountain, they’re not satisfied with just repeating the same routine each day.
They are risk-takers, just as they are also problem solvers. They love challenging themselves to the next route available, testing their physical and mental prowress simultaneously. And they simply love that sense of accomplishment when they reached the top and solved a different problem.
Are you finding life a little too comfy, and perhaps boring? Challenge yourself to try something new. Climbing will be daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can literally start conquering your mountains.
Lesson #2: If it’s to be, It’s up to me.
Climbing gives you no choice but to be entirely focused on the goal and overcoming your fear. How often is it when faced with difficulties, we give up, and tell ourselves we cannot do it?
Once you’ve begun an ascent, your focus is literally, the next step, and your goal is of course – to reach the top. Perhaps there will be moments when you lose the grip and take a fall – but a climber is geared to get up and try again. Falling is only part of the bigger picture, and we fall many, many, many times. In other words, we learn to focus on the big picture, and take our falls with a pinch of salt!
Furthermore, climbers also learn that if they really want to succeed, it’s up to them. Rather than get stuck in a routine of feeling like a mediocre climber, they could refine their technique, getting the basic footwork, grip or posture right, and seek improvements by consulting more experienced climbers. It’s all learnable, if one has the desire to figure out one’s problem areas.
Do you have issues with overcoming your problems? Indeed climbing is a sport where you learn to face your problems one by one and overcome them, becoming stronger both mentally and physically in the process.
Lesson #3: Life is Short. Dream Big. What you do today matters.
Finally, climbing is life-changing. It is a sport that can bring one to experience the great highs and lows of life – and therefore we are faced then with the question of “what is most important to me”?
Climbers have reportedly sacrificed careers or put plans on hold in order to be able to climb. Some have tragically lost lives. What is it that makes them go all out, versus the comforts and safety of their homes?
Perhaps it is the value that climbing gives them that nothing else in the world can compare. The sense of being one with nature and respecting it, challenging gravity and our bodies to its limit, reaching the summit and literally feeling ‘on-top-of-the-world’.
In order to achieve our dreams, time is of essence. It is definitely better to be climbing while one is young, before the onset of any illness or disease. So climbers learn not to procrastinate. Life is short, if we do not take hold of our dreams whatever it may be, we may just miss it.