For many climbers there is a moment when they are close to sending a project and their attitude shifts from “I think I can” to “I know I can.” Or better yet, “I got this!” This is a powerful moment, and it can be harnessed to accomplish practically anything.
Like most kids, I grew up with the story of The Little Engine That Could. Its famous “I think I can, I think I can” taught me that I could overcome challenges. But even within that phrase there can be a small seed of doubt, a moment of uncertainty when it almost becomes a question: “I think I can?”
These moments of doubt and hesitation add up over time. It’s why I fall. I think I can do all the of the moves. In fact, I’ve done all the moves; I just haven’t been able to link them all together. It’s this almost-question that prevents me from sending my most difficult projects.
After rehearsing, practicing, and going for the redpoint (that’s when you do the entire route without falling), you start to believe. One day, you feel great when normally you’d feel tired. You think to yourself, “Holy shit! I’m doing it.” And then you fall, because you were excited about the outcome and no longer focused on what you were doing. But the upside of that moment is that you shifted from thinking you can to knowing you can.
So how can you increase your confidence in your abilities before you’ve even attempted a problem?
I generally run with the attitude that the sorts of things that I want to do are possible, I just have to figure it out and put in the time.
Maybe just start there — establish that it’s possible
Ask someone who’s done what you want to do. How’d they do it? We live in a connected world, the information is probably out there.
I bet you could Google it.
What if no one has done what you’re proposing to do? Has anyone done something similar? What’s the next best thing?
My wife recently finished reading a book on typography. It begins with Gutenberg and how he developed his moveable-type printing press that finally went public in 1455. The story that most people don’t hear is that he spent 20 years trying to realize his dream, went into deep, deep debt, and ultimately lost his business. But he did it.
How did he know he could do it? It came down to his ability to leverage one of his strengths. Gutenberg was originally a goldsmith and could work with metal to craft the tiny letter punches he needed for the press. He could have packed it in at any time, and saved himself a lot of money and frustration, but he knew he could do it. So he stuck with it and became the man famous for one of the greatest inventions in the Western world.
How do any of us get to that point of complete faith in our goal?
My confidence in my ability to crush difficult projects in business and climbing comes from thinking about my past successes.
Think of a moment when you felt successful. What was it? Really imagine it. Feel it. What were all of the steps that you had to do to get there?
Think of one of your strengths, something that you are really good at, and translate that process into what you want to do, like our Gutenberg example.
It doesn’t matter if your examples don’t speak to other people, you’re the only person you need to convince.
That is the moment I want you to find, the moment you switched from “I think I can” to “I know I can.” Once you’ve got it. You can wield it over and over to accomplish anything you want to do.