A steep Climb and finding ‘a way’ to the top

Went rock climbing today and must admit, it is much easier than it appears.

As a fan of high performance psychology this was the perfect stage to test what we teach at WinForever.

As I climbed higher and higher up vertical rock faces with minimal gripping, I felt my heartbeat race and breath shorten. Instantly I began to channel what Dr. Michael Gervais often talks about: the art of breathing.

I began to calm my entire body down by simply controlling my breath. As I relaxed, my arms got stronger and any desire I had to look down was erased.

As we talk about at WinForever; it is vital in performance that we understand that we can only control what we can and on that cliff, I could only control my mind.

The second phase of this climb that was cool was the actual climb! You have to find small areas to place your fingers and often they are just beyond your reach.

As I reached 50 and 60 feet that next grab, the next reach, would grow with intensity. Each time it looked like there was nowhere to grab, nowhere to reach, but each time I would find a way. It’s like one of my mentors told me years ago, ‘son, there is always a way.’

At this time of year with bowl games and the NFL playoffs almost upon us watch as quarterbacks may seem to have nowhere to go but somehow ‘find a way.’