Motivation and Mental Training

For the climbing camp, I was tasked by Jensen Seah to do a piece on my thoughts regarding how to hone one's mind during climbing competitions. While I'm happy to help him, I'm also hesitant, or even slightly reluctant, because my recent string of poor performances suggest that I'm a poor candidate for any advice giving. Let's just say that it is difficult to graduate with a good degree, to buff your resume so employers don't toss it aside at first glance, to perform consistently at competitions and to run your own investment portfolio ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I think difficult is an understatement. IMPOSSIBLE seems more appropriate. I feel like I'm burning myself at both ends of the candle. I don't get enough sleep. My body is falling apart with injuries plaguing my elbow (tendonitis) and my back (strain). I want to boulder hard but I cannot. It is so frustrating. I can't even help myself, yet I'm expected to help others. Bah.

Perhaps it will be my destiny to stretch myself out so thin in pursuit of everything, such that in the end I achieve nothing. Bah.

In the recently concluded Zenergy Bouldering Competition in KL, I ended up with last place. I'm sorely tempted to point the finger of blame at the poorly set routes, but that is just a defeatist mentality. People like to see the underdogs surmount challenges, not hear them whine about difficulties. Yet, the disadvantages of being a shorter climber (exponentially increased difficulty of span moves and jump starts) becomes apparent when ALL the qualifying routes are set to favour taller climbers. Competitions are just so arbitrary to tastes and preferences of the Chief Routesetter. I hate it!



















Route 1: Bottleneck at huge throw off slopey pinch (left hand) to latch slopey pinch (right hand). In the earlier move, I did a toe hook to off the side wall to make the subsequent match hand (currently holding with my right hand in the picture) move easier. The emcee promptly announced my beta, after which all the following competitors used a toe hook ._.



















Route 2: Bottleneck at this spot, where climbers were deceived into wasting attempts to try and hit the orange crimp on the red volume, instead of jumping straight for the two holds above. Dear Routesetter: If you want to set a dyno, please make it obvious!

Of course here I can write a nice flowery heartwarming passage about how I'll try harder, about how results are inconsequential, about how everything is fine and dandy. But seriously, the Routes 1 and 2 had a major bottleneck in each. Regardless of ability, all the climbers fell at the same place. The decider was in Route 3. Route 3 involved a jump-start, after which it was a cruise to the top. In the end, taller climbers (who could do the jump-start) were racing to finish the problem, because the route was so easy that the judges differentiated using time. How lame! For (shorter) climbers who couldn't get the jump start, it was an immensely frustrating experience to jump over 20 times off a designated foot hold to grab a hold you can easily latch jumping from the ground.

Also, for the competition they counted using total number of attempts, instead of least attempts to the highest hold. Like WTF?



















Route 3: Lame compulsory jump start off a designated foothold to the right. It is actually much easier to catch the hold by jumping directly off the ground. In fact, I can even do it blind-folded. After that brown volume it was a cruise to the top. Lame will a capital L.

Jump starts simply aren't a fair test of climbing ability, since it is about as fair as getting a 1.6m NBA player to out slam-dunk a 2.2m one. How about I be Chief Routesetter and set awkward sit starts and cramp moves off micro crimps? Then we can have the taller climbers making over 20 attempts trying to get their ass off the ground. Bah.

Reached back SG at 0500. Lecture from 1100-1300. Project meeting from 1300-1545. Rush down from Clementi to Farrer Park. Climbing coaching from 1700-1900. I'm drowning. Arrowed by Professor to host a meet-the-industry-veteran session this Thursday. Some chairman from some big consultancy is coming down. Need to ensure the event proceeds smoothly. Stress. This begs the question, is what I'm doing worth it? Do so much, for what? Is there someone I can share my trials and tribulations, my frustrations and my joys, with? Bah*.

Anyways, the piece I wrote for Jensen is attached below, for your reading pleasure (or displeasure - some people don't like reading. If so, then what are you doing here?)

Hi friends,

I was approached to share some of my experiences regarding climbing. More specifically, I was tasked to the topic of mental skills training. I’m honoured that Jensen sought my opinion, yet at the same time I’m apprehensive because I feel I’m not the best go-to person regarding this topic. After all, my competition performance is erratic at best, downright crappy at worst.

I’ve been climbing and competing for close to 8 years now, so to ask me to distil those experiences into a 5 minute sharing session is a tall order. But because Jensen is such a committed coach, I’ll indulge him. But I find that I must first talk about motivation before performance. To do otherwise is the equivalent of putting the cart before the horse. Everything boils down to your motivations – that is the essence of not just climbing, but whatever endeavour you choose to pursue. The second point about mental skills training, which by extension is performance, will then tie in the first.

I believe that motivation has to be intrinsic. Nobody can shove a motivation pill down your throat to grant you drive, or zealousness. You’ll find that extrinsic motivation fizzles out after a while. First and foremost, you must want to do well. In that same vein, you must despise mediocrity. You must be slightly obsessed. In your pursuit of excellence, you must leave behind those who will only hold you back.

Here I must deviate slightly to make an observation. Why else would Ueli Steck want to climb the Eiger North Face faster than anyone else? Honestly, if he were a sensitive/thoughtful man, would he really choose to make a statement on that climb which so many before him have given their lives for? Call it whatever you want. You can say he wanted to push his limits. You can say he wanted to prove to others that the impossible may well be possible. Yet, the fact remains that the base emotion driving his ambition was greed. He wanted more. He wanted perfection. Yet, out of that selfishness bloomed something beautiful. He inspired a generation of alpinists to train hard, to become greater than he. The cycle repeats. Interestingly, Ueli also chose to solo instead of doing it with a partner, hinting that perhaps a partner who doesn’t fit like a jigsaw will probably only slow you down.

Ok so now we assume that you’ve made up your mind to do well. However, there is a catch. You cannot go to competitions thinking you want to win. You cannot go to a project letting the desires of wanting to send it consume you. If you let your expectations get the better of you, you’ll find that instead of it being a force for good, you become affected in a negative sort of way. Your movements become muddled. Your mind is cluttered with non-crucial thoughts. Inevitably, your performance suffers. The key is to focus on the task at hand, and the results will follow. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. Yet, even though I learned this lesson from climbing, I’ve failed to apply it to other aspects of my life. Thankfully, I had a friend remind me that I should be focusing on my education now, instead of worrying about my career in future.

In conclusion, climbing is a whole journey of reflection, contemplation and self discovery. At least this is the case for me. Good luck on your own adventure, and remember, there are many different paths to your destination. So pick one, it may be short and direct, or long and windy, but I’m sure that at the end of the day, you’ll have a story to tell too.

*I used Bah 4 times in this post. No I'm not bitter and I don't need counseling. I just need to stop using Bah.