Especially since a few friends that I introduced to climbing in turn are now cheerfully doing stuff a grade up from me.
Bastards. *g*
Seriously: it helps to remind myself that other people are often starting from a completely different baseline from me.
For example, of course someone who's from an athletic background and physically confident is going to have a headstart in many respects compared to me (dyspraxic and twenty years spent avoiding all forms of sports with fear and loathing). That doesn't say anything about intrinsic ability, or about what I'm capable in the long run.
I get anxious about whether I'm improving enough, or at all.
Yeah, it's sort of inevitable when you're really into something -- of course you want to get better at it so you can do more cool things. And being competitive can be natural, too.
But occasionally I have to recognize when I'm getting obsessive and too focused on external markers of whether I'm doing "okay", and make myself spend some time climbing things that don't have grades on. *g*
Anyway, IMHO working on developing your sense of when to push yourself and when not to is one of the most important things you can do to improve your climbing in the long term.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-08-29 04:56 pm (UTC)Bastards. *g*
Seriously: it helps to remind myself that other people are often starting from a completely different baseline from me.
For example, of course someone who's from an athletic background and physically confident is going to have a headstart in many respects compared to me (dyspraxic and twenty years spent avoiding all forms of sports with fear and loathing). That doesn't say anything about intrinsic ability, or about what I'm capable in the long run.
I get anxious about whether I'm improving enough, or at all.
Yeah, it's sort of inevitable when you're really into something -- of course you want to get better at it so you can do more cool things. And being competitive can be natural, too.
But occasionally I have to recognize when I'm getting obsessive and too focused on external markers of whether I'm doing "okay", and make myself spend some time climbing things that don't have grades on. *g*
Anyway, IMHO working on developing your sense of when to push yourself and when not to is one of the most important things you can do to improve your climbing in the long term.