Exceptionally empty Headed!

As someone who took a dose of psychotherapy in the Pyrenees to overcome a less than ordinary and apparently traumatic childhood, I am of the belief that the mental aspect of climbing as close to your true personal limit is more important than focusing too much on the minutiae of the training or the apparent tangible goal.

Finding inspiration in climbing for me, has always been about finding the truth in what I am doing and why. The motivation is driven by that single belief that something exceptional can happen and working out what part one needs to play to be part of it. Being open to others and taking inspiration from them to keep you going or closing a little and training alone without interruption from others, can work simultaneously and so I suppose for me, knowing when to do what feels right is the key.

Training obviously needs structure, but the motivation to train hard for sustained periods comes from the mind. Learning more about the interruptions from the mind explained more to me about my erratic performance on rock. Learning to approach climbing with as much focus on being relaxed and as little about performance whilst concise with action in the moment on the climb, is something I have been trying to embed in my psyche for over a year now... A kind of empty headed approach with just one thought of 'UP'!

Bouldering in the Pyrenees (Photo: Ruth Jenkins)

Recent events have made me look at where climbing fits in to my life and where it shifts around in my personal circumstances. A low self esteem has played a huge part in motivating me to try harder but also been the main inhibitor. But perhaps climbing is less about competing with myself and more about enjoying the minutiae of each move in the moment and let the rest just take care of itself.

I think that coaching and transferring a 'real' motivation to others is directly linked with finding honesty in the situation and dealing with it openly to build trust for tougher times, as often needed when trying to do something exceptional. Believing that something exceptional can happen is perhaps the difference that hold things together when the apparent blockages seem un-achievable otherwise, the apparently un-achievable is just allowed  to sadly become unbelievable...

 Exception: "An action that is not part of ordinary operations or standards."