The Optimism Grind

Optimism has more power then I have ever previously realized. Over the past month I have been using optimism toward my own benefit. Although I used to believe that optimism could only be found naturally I have since discovered that I can take pessimistic thoughts and make them optimistic. Not only have I used this optimism to help my climbing mindset, but I have also found it very helpful in getting through the school day (which I have often dreaded). As many people know, including you the reader, I put most of my energy toward climbing and when I’m at school all I’m really thinking about is climbing. Before I discovered how to use optimism to my advantage I would sit in class and dwell on the fact that I had to wait another 3-4 hours to climb. Now I take the idea of being able to climb as motivation to get my work done and finish up school in the fastest way I can.

I started this whole “optimism grind” as a way to get better at climbing because my good friend Zoltan showed me how it can be used to help my mindset toward the sport. I used it specifically on a 5.12a lead climb on a 60 foot wall (which I had never done). In my first few days of trying it I kept falling on the top move and I would scream and come down calling myself a failure. The next week I went up it again with a different mindset, I said to myself “I might fall on this, but that's okay because I can get it another time.” I sent that attempt as if it were nothing. I was hardly even pumped by the time I came down from the top. It was at this moment I knew that optimism would be my best friend.

From that point on I didn’t only start using the optimism for sending climbs but I used it in my setting, training, and dieting. When I’m setting in my basement and get a spinner (it happens more than you'd think) instead of getting pissed off and ditching the climb for a few days, I take a breath, throw on a record, and start brainstorming how to fix it. Another example could be when I’m stretching in the morning and it hurts a little more than usual and I’m not as mobile. Instead of just ditching it and scrolling on reels for 30 minutes, I will do some simpler stretches before going into my main ones. Taking my time to think about how to make things better has made me a better climber already. I can already see myself using optimism in the future for a long time.

B. Smith