Climbing the Difficulties of Life

What can climbing teach you about life?

If you’ve known me for any amount of time then you know that I enjoy outdoor activities. Growing up my parents always had us going outside, and since then nature has become a safe space that is calming to escape to whenever life becomes too chaotic. Not every outdoor activity I enjoy, but since moving to South Korea I’ve fallen in love with climbing again. 

One of the reasons I love to climb (or bouldering since you don’t need a rope) so much is because it is something you can do alone or with people. Even with language barriers when you meet other climbers, you all enjoy the same sport and know how it works and can connect despite language barriers–encourage one another as you climb and work out. 

Climbing is one of those things that is super challenging, but can be super rewarding. You put in a lot of work and effort and the result depends on how much you do. If you do a little, you’ll only improve a little, if you climb a lot, you’ll quickly get better. Repetition creates muscle memory, so even if you fall or have injuries your body will learn to adapt and improve. Like most things in life if you work hard it’ll pay off, but if you slack off or aren’t diligent then the results won’t be impressive. 

Climbing is a mental battle. You are the one who has to do the work. You won’t go anywhere unless you try, and you have to constantly be pushing yourself to do more and do better. At times you’ll have people cheering you on, but only you can do the work. Other people can offer advice, but you still have to figure it out. And just because they say one thing, it doesn’t mean there’s only one way to climb. With climbing you learn to climb however you can–it’s based on survival after all. Everyone has the same holds but people climb it differently according to their experience, height, and flexibility. Someone else can reach up for a hold you have to jump for. And sometimes you can use a hold too small for someone else’s hand. There is no right and wrong way because in the end you finish at the same place. Watching others climb before you helps you know how to solve a problem, but doesn’t mean it is the only answer. 

In life, there are many paths we can take, some harder, some easier. People will offer advice, but we are the ones who have to figure out what we want to do with our lives. Taking the words of others and learning what is best for us because we are all different. We have to invest in ourselves and those around us. We have to train ourselves, improve our habits, and always be continually learning and adjusting to our surroundings. When we put in hard work eventually we will see our results. 

Some parts of life will be hard, there will be no strength or energy to get through. Some parts will be full of seasons where you are stuck and can’t go anymore, and then one day you suddenly are moving past that wall that was holding you back. Life is a mental game where you have to convince yourself to keep going. There are always many different options and directions we can be going, but as long as we get to the finish line that is all that matters. Each path is a learning process, and if we get off the right path we can go back and try again. Like the scripture that says “a man can choose his path but the Lord will direct his steps.” We can choose to go anywhere, but God is directing us. If we choose to not follow his direction we may face more difficulty than if we’d stayed in accordance with His plan, but we can learn and move on. 

Everyone says life is a journey. It’s a journey as we continuously learn about ourselves and those we care about. We learn how to love and serve others, to have a relationship with God, and what success means because it is not the same for everyone. Life is a learning process with many paths but on final destination. It’s ok if we are slower than others, and take more steps to get to where others are already. We each have different things to learn.