I started indoor rock climbing again last year as a fun date idea with my husband. My muscle memory from years ago kicked in as I pulled and pushed my way up the rocks on the wall.
There was one wall I couldn’t seem to conquer. I would reach for the second-to-the-last hold but pulling myself to grasp the final one was, quite literally, out of reach. Every week for the last three weeks, I would haul myself up that wall, reach up and miss that final rock. Sometimes my fingers would almost brush it before I would fall back, the self-belaying mechanism bringing me not-so-gently back to the ground, foiled in another attempt to finish that wall.
The ironic thing was that they named the wall EASY PEASY. What made it not so easy-peasy was that those last two holds were right above an overhang which puts a lot more pressure on my hands and core as I cling to the wall at at a sharp angle way above the ground.
Last Tuesday, I FINALLY reached up and grabbed that elusive last stone. How did I do it? Well, that was the unusual lesson I learned.
The usual lessons would be:
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Believe in yourself. You can do it.
Power through. Hustle!
Go for it. Make the leap and grab that sucker.
The lesson I learned: Find another way.
Whether you’re climbing a wall, a mountain, a corporate ladder or your way up to success and you can’t seem to reach your goal, pause. And use your creativity to find another way.
Maybe that means stepping back and exploring if there are other steps you can take aside from the ones that you had tried over and over already. (While I was on the ground, I looked at the wall and saw that there was another route I could use.)
Maybe you need to ask someone who’s done it before. (I asked my husband who pointed out a small rock that I could use as leverage to boost myself.)
Maybe you need to hone your skills first, to practice, practice, practice. (I tried other walls and built my confidence before finally ending the night on EASY PEASY.)
Or maybe there are other creative ideas you haven’t thought of yet that will propel you forward—another perspective, another possibility, another way of thinking, another door opening.
So if at first you don’t succeed, find another way.
