Kindle Notes & Highlights
Started reading
November 29, 2019
Ultimately, we climb with our minds-our hands and feet are simply extensions of our thoughts and will.
The brain is the epicenter of all aspects of climbing performance, and therefore mental training is the ultimate-and most powerful-method of training for climbing.
Climbing your best, then, comes only by replacing outcome-oriented thinking with a focus on the process of climbing, an enjoyment of the dance, and a becoming one with the experience.
•Your achievements in climbing are a lot less relevant than whatyou learn in the process.
-Lynn Hill
•Climbing is so magical, but it's so easy to lose that and get caught up in the numbers game... climb because you love it.
-Katie Brown
•Mastery lies not in the capturing of a summit, but in a oneness with each detail of the experience.
In summary, the maximum climber is not the one who climbs the hardest. He is instead the climber most engaged in the moment, most open to gaining a deeper understanding of his present situation, and most willing to embrace each experience-whatever it may be-knowing that it is the stuff of life.
In the mountains climbers can discover the Truth, when beauty, danger, and a rich, novel experience combine to etch our souls in a way that will last a lifetime. This is maximum climbing.
Common bad habits of thought, such as pondering failure, making excuses, and engaging in critical self-talk, wield a powerful negative influence over our physical abilities and potential to achieve.
The optimal mind-set when climbing for performance is one in which you embrace and enjoy each moment of climbing and simply let the experience unfold without expectation. Reserve the mind-set of striving to reduce climbing defects for your workouts and practice climbs. Thus, it's essential that you always distinguish between climbing for practice versus climbing for performance.
