Trusting Your Body: Overcoming Self-Doubt on the Wall
Hesitation and self-doubt whilst on the wall can be one of the most crippling things in bouldering. Knowing what a move is, and how it should be done, but not being able to do it, and taking the all too common step of dropping off or letting go. How do we get into these situations? How do they affect us? And how can we re-wire a little bit to avoid them? Let’s slay some demons.
Wasted Effort
Fundamentally, as a logical but very performance oriented climber, I perceive self doubt and hesitation as leading directly to wasted effort. You have a quality send go on a boulder, only to lose it at or after the crux, and waste that attempt. This can be a reality for many climbers, and often many many times during a session. How often have you stepped off a boulder, or half arsed a move and said ‘I’ll give it a bit more next time’ or ‘it just didn’t feel good’, or the classic ‘I could feel my skin sliding’. These are often the excuses we make when failing to commit or experiencing doubt whilst on the wall. We doubt our chances of success, or doubt whether we’re safe or not, and as a result we don’t go 100%, and many times we don’t go at all.
All we do in these situations is waste our effort, and these wastages certainly add up. They’re like a weed, the more we do them, the more they grow and take over and sneak into our psyche. We convince ourselves we need to ‘build confidence’ or ‘wait for my skin to feel good’. The reality however in my experience has always been that the quicker I commit to a move, and silence self doubt and hesitation, the quicker I send the boulder. If we’re talking about dangerous boulders, I can agree that building up confidence and testing out the fall in those situations with lower intensity falls is sensible. But those aside, I am trying to get to as close to 100% effort as possible, right off the bat. It will give me more quality goes in a session, allow me to remove any doubt that ‘I’m not trying hard enough’ or ‘I need to just turn it on a bit’, and actually focus on the things that matter. Maybe it’s refining beta or simply just continuing the upward trajectory and getting that little bit closer each go. But you’re only going to increase your chances by trying that bit harder, each attempt.
Tactics
So how do we move towards removing this self doubt and hesitation? Firstly we acknowledge it, and spot that we’re doing it. Often easier said than done, so film yourself, ask friends/coaches advice and input. Then start to look at improving confidence on lower grade climbs where you can find the flow and try hard, without finding yourself second guessing or ‘feeling out moves’. Rehearsing harder climbs in your head can also help, and visualising successful ascents consistently and regularly. This is another one that’s tougher than it looks, and requires a lot of practice! It can be manageable to visualise a whole climb, but it’s often not easy to do it without any pause, distraction or mental fluster. If you can’t do it in your head, it’ll be harder to do it on the wall! Practice here first.
Challenge yourself by climbing boulders without stopping or second guessing, and re-climb them with more intention and greater commitment. Then build this up on harder climbs until you can operate around and above your base level whilst fully committed and focussed. The change in your climbing IQ will be significant, and you’ll find yourself making the most of your energy and skin, giving you longer and more productive days out climbing.
This one can really be a game changer, so get building!
Eliot