Go Ask Alex Honnold…
…the guy who climbed the 3200 foot rock face of El Capitan in Yosemite National park without ropes, the “Greatest athletic feat of any kind EVER,” or so said the New York Times.
For ten years Alex dreamed of climbing it, but every time he thought he might be ready, his deep sense of fear held him back.
He speaks about imagining that it’s possible. He exposes himself to his fear in an effort to desensitize himself.
With more practice, he gets more comfortable. He chips away at his fear, spending years in preparation.
Being a rock climber, you have to be light and strong. The fitness required is do or die. You have to hang from your fingers while the world gapes three thousand feet below you.
When Alex talks about his life, he insists that imagining the task he put before him was perhaps the most effective way to get it done.
He created an open space in his life. He stopped using social media. He spent hours every day “hang boarding,” which is the practice of hanging from your fingers like a bat, strengthening different combinations of fingers.
He memorized the route up the face of the giant rock like a NASA engineer would map out a launch. He knew every step he planned to take. He spent ten years broadening his comfort zone.
He ate a vegan diet, not so much for his health, but for his need to know that he had done everything in his power to ensure success.
Many of us are scared of public speaking. Rehearsal is agonizing. We dread the pressure but we want the glory.
Go ask Alex what it’s like to achieve something you’ve always wanted to do. He’d probably say that if your dreams don’t scare you they are not big enough.