27 Oct Building Confidence at the Crag
Building Confidence at the Crag
by Colorado LCC Advocate, Lora Rose
Ladies that climb ROCK! Who’s with me? But seriously, having a community of ladies that enjoy pockets and crimps as much as I do is such a wonderful feeling. But how many times have you been climbing with a group of badass women and thought, “I can’t do this” or “Susie would kill this route, I’m not even going to try”? Spoiler alert, I have definitely thought these thoughts. What is it that makes us question ourselves and limit our fun on the crag? Fear and a lack of confidence. I want to talk to you ladies about a few fears that can often get in our way when climbing and give you a few solutions to build confidence on the crag.
Types of Fears:
1. Fear of Failure
2. Fear of Falling
3. Fear of Face
Fear of Failing
The fear of failure is real. Climbers have a reputation of being high achievers. Working on a project over and over without success can make anyone want to give up. Sometimes, fear of failure can make us not even want to try a route we think we can’t do.
Fear of Falling
You’re leading a 100ft route and you’re almost to the top “Holy smokes! What if don’t make my last clip?”. Let’s be honest, climbing can be dangerous if not done properly. It only takes one or two horror stories to rattle our confidence and start playing those doubts on repeat.
Fear of Face
We all want to ‘save face’ when we are in front of others. No one wants to look like an amateur in front of someone who is awesome, and we have all had those thoughts of wondering what other people will think.
Ok, so now what? I’ve brought out all the insecurities, the doubts, and the fears, but what should we do about them? This brings me to some practical solutions:
Face the Fears!
The first step in building confidence is just acknowledging which fears you identify with most (and it’s ok if is more than one…or all of them ?). Identifying which thoughts are swirling around when you’re hesitant to start a climb will help you with the next step…
Focus on the Positives
I’m a therapist so I can’t help but talk about positive self talk. What thoughts we allow to go unchecked will influence our actions. This works both in the negative and the positive. If we allow ourselves to think “I can’t do this” or “I’m going to fall” we are basically giving our body permission to fail. We need to change the thought! Try a mantra like “I’m a badass climber” or remind yourself that you are not alone, and your belayer will keep you safe. By identifying the negative thought/fear, and changing it with a positive, you will feel more confident and find your body following suit.
Create Smaller, Achievable Steps
Sometimes a route really is just tough, and that’s ok! Challenging ourselves will build skills and confidence, but we don’t need to do it all at once. Try to find easier routes with similar aspects to build strength or skip the beginning and just work on that crux over and over. Did you know you can actually use other holds than the route you’re climbing? Gasp! It’s true. If you aren’t in a competition and you’re not interfering with the climber nearby, then you don’t need to feel like you have to play by the rules. Do what works for you and stop comparing yourself to others! We all have the same goal: enjoy ourselves climbing with an amazing group of ladies!
So the next time you start to doubt your abilities, or are tempted to skip a route, challenge yourself to identify the fear, focus on the positives, and set an achievable goal. You are awesome and supported. Get out there and show the world what you are made of!