| Here's a question to consider...........What are your climbing goals
for this year?
Most of us could probably come up with a quick answer or two on the spot,
but it might be an idea to put some time into choosing some real goals for
the year to keep motivated. Success rarely happens by accident and a set
of goals is a good way of having a map to your own chosen destination. There
are some guidelines that experts give around goal setting to ensure you get
the most out of them and I've taken a shot at cutting it all down to the
basics.....
Write Them Down. This is the biggest one of them all and the experts
say that the difference between a dream and a goal is paper and a pencil.
Documenting your goals for the year keeps you laser focused on what you want
to achieve, prevents you from forgetting them mid year, allows you to check
your progress and also ensures that you don't try and slide out of one if
it starts to get too difficult. "I don't remember saying I'd climb V12 by
June". Check the list and keep yourself honest.
Make Them Specific and Measurable. In other words avoid vague goals
like 'get stronger', 'climb more' or 'get me some of them fancy slip-on shoes'
and instead add detail to make them specific, like 'Climb outside at least
3 weekends per month until November', or 'Climb at least 5 problems rated
V5 this year'. Make them detailed enough to be specific and easily measurable,
which is the key. A good rule is to include as many of the W's as
possible....who, what, when, where, which and why. Specific routes or problems
can be goals and it doesn't get much more specific than that. You may recognize
this as your tick list and you might already have one. I've been building
mine all winter while staring out of the window at the falling snow.
Keep It Real. This may be obvious but create a realistic set of goals.
Obviously avoid the ridiculous or at least save them for next year and don't
aim to do a hundred things, both of which will guarantee failure. If you
climb V2 then setting a goal of flashing Fred Nicole's V15, followed by a
race against Dean Potter up El Cap followed by 12 rounds with Mike Tyson
would be deemed as ridiculous, or at least an overestimation of ability.
Don't set yourself up for failure, but at the same time don't avoid a strong
challenge that could go down to the wire and will stretch you to the max.
In addition, a good idea is to have a couple of smaller more achievable goals
in the mix so that you get a good start which will provide motivation and
momentum for your harder challenges.
Inspect What You Expect. Your goals may well change throughout the
year and you should refer back to them periodically and fine tune them. Maybe
you get injured which slows down your progress, or maybe something prevents
you dedicating as much time to climbing as you had planned. Also, you might
have over or under estimated your abilities so if it looks like you're way
off then make the changes. Only do this if you are WAY off, don't use this
as a cop out, if your goals are in the universe of possibility and you want
them enough then leave them alone and bust your ass to reach them. For me,
there's nothing more satisfying than setting a goal and then reaching it
after dedicated hard work. Well, there is one thing, but this isn't the time.
Involve Others. Definitely check with your regular climbing partners
to see if your chosen goals are on target. They will quickly tell you if
they are too hard and will tell you even more quickly if they are too soft.
Also, it's not as easy to back out of a goal if you've told your friends
about it, so tell them. In addition your fellow climbers are the ones who
will provide the support throughout the year to help you achieve your goals.
I only wish someone would explain this support concept to my crew. It's hard
to get through a crux with people below crying out 'suck it up you fat bastard'.
Finally, customizing a phrase from Bill Meyer.....Think of goals as the seeds
of your climbing year ahead. If you plant crab apples then don't expect to
harvest Golden Delicious. Good luck for the year, see you out there. |
