Those who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it. – Anonymous
Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It’s a battle against oneself. – Walter Bonatti
No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. – Yoda
The rock is a field of battle between our weakness and our strength. – Royal Robbins
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
All of these quotes speak of motivation in some way. In climbing, motivation is important in becoming a good climber, and absolutely critical in becoming a great one. In his book Training for Climbing, Eric Horst says, “Rock climbing is unique among sports, however, in that it requires a near-equal balance of mental, technical, and physical prowess.” Therefore, the mental aspect of climbing takes up about one third of the sport as a whole, and motivation occupies, in one way or another, all of that third. The importance of motivation largely depends on whether your have set any goals for yourself. They may be small, such as sending your 5.11 project, or large, such as winning Open nationals; but in order to reach these goals, every climber needs motivation. This article, found on the Nicros site, was written by Eric Horst. Here he aptly explains what true motivation is and how to maintain it.
Strategies for Increasing Motivation
Motivation is an integral part of the success formula in any sport and is a common topic in many sports periodicals. Interestingly, most of the articles I’ve seen on the subject get it all wrong! So what is motivation? And how can you increase your motivation when it begins to wane? This powerful information is outlined below, but let’s start off with what many people confuse with motivation.
Some Get It Wrong
Most articles on motivation focus on getting you “psyched” for training or competition. They may instruct you to surround yourself with aggressive people, play loud music, find new training facilities, read inspirational stories, look at dreamy photos, maybe even quaff some coffee.But these things do NOT motivate! They are simply external stimuli that change your state. They may provide a quick fix to your low-energy level for a single workout, but they do not provide the consistent drive necessary for long-term dedication to training/climbing. Once you remove the stimuli, the intensity and enthusiasm quickly disappear.
All In Your Head
Unlike state changes brought about by external stimuli, motivation is a function of internal stimuli. Your level of motivation is a direct result of your thoughts and emotions.Expectations and incentives drive persistent, intense workouts. Desire to achieve gets you out to try your “impossible” project at the crags. Unstoppable self-confidence lifts you when external things are getting you down. And your mental visions shape your future realities.
Getting Motivated
Below I touch on a few of the larger contributors to motivation. Although described separately, they are interrelated. Review your day-to-day thought processes to determine your use of them (or lack of use) in motivating yourself. Make notes on changes you should make immediately!Expectancy
Expect success whether you’re climbing or training. The best on-sight climbers believe they’re going to on-sight the route. That expectation alone increases their chance of success!In the gym both your expectation of how the “exercise” will change you physiologically and how that change will help you reach your goals, generate higher motivation. Simply put, you must believe there is a causal connection between your actions and the desired outcome. If you don’t, you’ll probably blow off the workout, not put your best effort into it, or grab a pizza and beer with your friends instead.
For example, you are more likely to do traverse training if you believe it will improve your technique and strength. What’s more, you are more likely to want to improve your technique and strength if you believe it will improve your overall performance at the crags.
For this reason I believe every serious climber should want to learn as much as possible about human performance. The greater your knowledge about training principles, avoiding injury, motor learning, mental control, nutrition and such, the more likely you are to act accordingly. This is critical to motivation–so visit TrainingForClimbing.com regularly!
Incentive
Motivation increases with greater incentive value. In the context of climbing competitions, you may be motivated by the possibility of placing in the cash. (Although this is probably a greater source of motivation for golfers!)For most, the true incentives are the feelings experienced in cranking a hard climb, winning a comp, or as Jerry Moffatt says “just burning someone off.”
Incentive motivation gets stronger the closer you are to the event or your goal. Set lots of short-term goals, in addition to a couple long-term aims, to shoot for (and hopefully achieve) on a regular basis. Too long a delay between your actions and their payoff makes it more difficult to stay motivated.
This explains why an active “tick-list” (a detailed list of routes to do) is such a great motivator. If you are regularly sending routes on that list then it’ll be awfully easy to train between climbing trips. Oppositely, if your only goal is something broad or singular, such as to travel to Smith Rock or to climb a 5.11, your motivation will be consistently lower and you’ll probably get spanked once you get to Smith or head up that 5.11!
Positiveness
Confident, positive climbers are highly-motivated, successful climbers. Conversely, if you have a lack of confidence or are constantly negative about things, then your motivation is probably about 20,000 leagues under the sea.Maybe more than any other trait, your degree of positiveness (in general) is something you learned as a child. Fortunately, a day-to-day effort to turn your negative thoughts around can have dramatic effects on your confidence and degree of motivation.
You must first become aware of your negative thoughts. Statements questioning the value of training or predictions of poor performances may be the most common among climbers. Learn to immediately counter these thoughts with something positive. Use self-talk and self-instruction such as “this will help me build strength,” “stick it,” or “I can do it.”
Rewards
To stick to a serious training program or diet, you’re going to need some regular payoffs–maybe in the form of harder leads when at the crag. There are times, however, when you’ll need other kinds of rewards.Becoming a great climber means lots of sacrifice. Regular training, dieting, and climbing often result in missing out in other areas. But an occasional reward for a job well done may be just what you need to stay motivated.
The best application of this rule is to allow yourself a day off from training, dieting, or whatever, after achieving one of your short-term goals.
Research seems to indicate that irregularly spaced rewards (like those received when reaching a goal) are more effective than regularly spaced rewards (like a weekly reward). Don’t forget, too many rewards in the form of food, drink or blowing off workouts will sabotage your performance. So resist the peer pressure to participate in the decadence, except on rare, well-deserved days.
Visualizing Success
The most powerful tool for increasing motivation may be visualization (a more detailed discussion later this chapter). Studies of peak performers in both business and sports have shown a common trait of being able to visualize the end result of labors long before they come to fruition. For example, athletes with long-term goals like winning an Olympic medal were consistently able to get motivated by visualizing themself standing on a podium receiving a medal.To motivate for training and climbing, visualize yourself honed and buffed. Visualize yourself cranking through the routes on your tick-list. Most of all, visualize yourself clipping the anchors or standing on top of the crag!
Visualization is most effective when your pictures are bright, crisp, big, and overly detailed. The more you blow up and exaggerate the picture, the more motivated you’ll feel. This may sound strange, but it works!
High levels of motivation are necessary for fueling the consistent, comprehensive training and practice that are so critical for improved climbing performance. As your skill level increases, you’ll notice that the gains come more slowly and are less noticeable, so you’ll need even greater motivation and devotion to improve.
Clearly, everybody experiences periods when motivation wanes. True peak performers, however, are able to maintain, or create, high levels of motivation through thick and thin. So practice the preceding motivational techniques and always visualize success!
Some awesome stuff, to be sure. Eric also wrote this mini article with some specific recommendations on how to up your psych level.
Amping Motivation
Motivation is an integral part of the success formula and, therefore, being able to create and maintain motivation is an invaluable skill you need to develop. Here are five techniques to amp-up your motivation and elevate your performance.
1.) Set Goals. Training and performance goals are the ultimate motivator. Write down five things you’d like to accomplish over the next twelve months–set deadlines and get to work.
2.) Visualize the success process and outcome. Regular mental review of your success strategy and the goal achieved programs your subconscious mind and helps keep you on course to achieving it.
3.) Be positive, 24-7. Negative thoughts and non-constructive criticisms of yourself (and others) will drag you down. Keep your self-talk (and conversations with others) positive and productive. Leave the negative spray to the naysayers and losers of the world.
4.) Consume high-quality media that opens your mind and expands your views of what is possible. Biographies and interviews with peak performers (in anything) will inspire, motivation, and provide you with the seeds for success.
5.) Believe! Regardless of short-term setbacks or failures, believe that success is inevitable if you persevere and continue to extend your reach beyond your grasp.
The challenge for this week: try one of the ideas listed above and post in the comments about how it affected your motivation.