This Is What Happens When We Start Climbing.

Our ambitions are worth struggling for.

I am a sports enthusiast. Just not for rock climbing. I have jumped through the hoops during my teenage years due to Outward Bound School and that was it. I probably didn’t enjoy as much as Spidey does.

Recently I was walking past an indoor rock-climbing facility and I stopped for a brief moment. A climber was there, pretty much at a loss in terms of the next steps. The rocks above her are too high up for her reach. It was the same sideways.

She paused. She was looking around. I paused too. I wondered what she is going to do. The belayer below shouted at her, notifying her that he is ready for her should she decide to give up.

But she hanged on. It was pretty apparent to me after a few seconds that she is not giving up. I became deeply interested to know what her next move is.

Then I watched her leaping towards the handgrips beyond her reach. As she gripped onto them, her legs were still dangling in the air. I held my breath. As she pulled herself up, she found a footing for her left leg at the far left. Now she is on 3-point stability. From afar, her body resembled the shape of a capital letter “Y”, with a left inclined stem.

It was a marvel to watch. Then I turned my attention below. I saw the belayer was on double-quick time, swiftly pulling all the excess rope to his back and tightening the rope. This gave her further stability.

The backyard is now secure. Back to her. Her palms seemed to be dripping with sweat so she took her time to grab the dry power hanging on her hips. She did that arm by arm.

She is at least 3 more climbs before the summit. Her right hand came to the handgrip where her left hand is and her left hand took a grip on the upper left. Now the left inclined “Y” shape became a proper “Y” shape. With that, she inched upwards.

5 minutes later, she took the flag at the top and dropped her body down, allowing the belayer to drop her back to the ground. She was clearly exhausted. Many who watched her applauded. I did too.

Then I wonder. Why did she push herself that hard?

I imagine that the top of the wall was what she wanted to touch. Maybe nobody believed that she could. Perhaps some of her friends pushed her to do it. Regardless, she wanted it. Pretty badly too.

So, she gritted her teeth and forged ahead. When the grip-rocks were sparse, she tried to find her way. She figured that she could entrust her life to her friend belaying. Her goal must be to reach the top and grab the flag hanging at the wall summit that day.

Her trembling arms and wobbling core didn’t stop her. Her mind was focused. Her vision is clear. She zoomed to her point of focus and kept moving.

I think this is a brilliant lesson of ambition, grit, and achievement. So long as we have goals that are beyond us, the journey will be long and arduous. There are times we are stuck, and there are times where the path is not in front of us. But we try. We keep moving. We have to perform leaps of faith.

And so long as we keep trying relentlessly, we will get there. How do I know that? The rock-climber just demonstrated to me. She is a living testament to a go-getter and high achiever.

I want to be her friend. After she recovers from this traumatizing climb, of course.

So, what happens when we start climbing? For one, we find out who we are at our core. Do we push on with grit or we choose to live and fight for another day? Second, we know what really matters to us. Because when we do, we will fight till the end.

I believe that all sports allow us to find ourselves. We have to be willing to push hard enough in order for us to reach that stage.

Keep on pushing,

Aldric

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