If the terms “carabiner,” “belay,” and “bouldering” mean anything to you, you probably have been rock climbing.
This past weekend, I got hands-on experience that taught me the meaning of those words. I traveled with Outdoor Recreation to the New River Gorge for a night of camping and a day of rock climbing. This was my first time doing either activity, so it was quite the experience (and I loved every minute).
While climbing, especially for the first time, it can be a bit scary. You really learn a lot about yourself when you’re hanging by a rope 80 feet from the nearest glance of land.
In honor of my trip, here are some life lessons from the rocks.
1. Trust Your Feet and Stand Tall
If there was one thing I heard a lot that day, it was to trust my feet and legs. When you’re in a situation of uncertainty, instinctively, you know what you have to do. Just do it. Don’t let doubt be your leader. The ground upon which you stand is much stronger than what you believe of yourself. When you think you’re in sinking sand, just dig your feet in a little deeper, go a little farther, and you will make it through. You’ll find that you are stronger than you ever thought. You will find that you can work through exhaustion, pain, and suffering to reach goals that you’ve set for yourself. It’s so much harder to move forward in life if you don’t stand tall and go right through it. So stand tall!
2. Things are Not as They Appear
There were times I would watch someone struggle with her next step, and I would think to myself, “Come on. If you would just go over here and do this, this, and this, you would get past this point and be closer to reaching the top.” Once I reached the top, I couldn’t see the things that the others should have done.
A rock might not look that hard, but, suddenly, there is a completely new level of difficulty and uncertainty added to a situation when you are right in the middle of dealing with it. You can plan how to handle a breakup, drunken residents, or a violent relationship until you have a flawless, foolproof plan. When you actually get there, though, you realize there are different factors coming into play that you hadn’t thought through. All of a sudden, you’re stuck and don’t know what to do. You can’t see the big picture anymore, you forget your plan. But things really are not as they appear. Sometimes they’re much easier.
3. Use Your Resources
While climbing the rock dubbed “Easily Flakey,” I reached the point where I was so tired that I didn’t feel like I could go any farther. I hit a couple of points where I didn’t think I could lift myself up as high as I needed to be. Jarren, my belayer for this climb, told me to try putting my knee up and over the edge, pushing myself up that way. Until that point, I was just using my feet, hands, and arms. I didn’t even think to use my legs, but once I started that, the climb was so much easier.
Just as I had more than my feet and hands, you have more than just yourself when you feel overwhelmed by a situation. Use your friends, family, coworkers, whomever, and let them be your guide. Let them be there to give you objective advice that you can’t see when you’re stuck in the middle of a situation. Let them help point out your areas of weakness and help you move forward.
4. It’s Okay to Fall – Just Don’t Stay There
I fell quite a few times. I scraped my elbow and earned a few bruises. I didn’t stop, though. I got back up, sucked it up, and climbed on. The truth is, you’re not perfect. You’re going to fall sometimes. You’re going to get all scraped up, and you may be broken down and earn a few bruises on your heart, but it won’t last. The darkness will lift. Stand back up and start climbing again. On a related note, here’s a quote that I live by: “Are you hurt or are you injured? If you’re hurt, get back on the mat. If you’re injured, go home.”
Whenever you approach life’s rocks, remember these lessons from my trip on the rocks. You’re going to fall, and it’s going to hurt, but get back up. Use your other resources to help you see the big picture when you can’t. Trust your feet, dig in, don’t run, and stand tall in the face of trouble. You will make it through it, and you will be stronger.
Stay strong. Climb on.