Attitude affects your climbing,
and the right attitude can be worth
two letter grades or more. The
solution to a performance plateau
may be as simple as rephrasing
the things you say—out loud or to
yourself—so you apply energy toward
your goal, instead of allowing your
words to create doubt. Climb harder
by “speaking up,” not down.
Speak down: “It feels too hard.”
Instead, speak up with a question:
“What’s possible here?”
More opportunities to speak up:
Orient yourself forward into
action, not backward, away from errors.
Speak down: “Don’t hold your breath.”
Speak up: “Remember to breathe.”
Does climbing present problems or opportunities?
When you speak down, you emphasize
problems: “This looks gripping.” Speak
up to focus on opportunity: “What can I learn from this runout section?”
You don'thave to do anything in climbing. Speak
down: “I have to get better at crack
climbing.” Speak up: “I choose to
practice crack climbing.”
Don't try—do. Create goals that
relate to effort and actions (which you
can control), and not end results (which
you can’t). Speak down: “I’ll try to do it
without falling.” Speak up: “When I start
to get pumped, I’ll shift more focus to
my footwork and keep moving up.”
