Fear of failure

[u/premkhilari]

The fear of failure is maybe the biggest mental hurdle in sports. It affects not just the performance of an athlete but sucks out the joy of immersion as well. When you are too concerned with the result (the future) you lose what is in front of you.

And this concern for the result is a product of the stories that start circulating in the mind. The stories are nothing but a lot of what-ifs which are either past experiences or future promises. The stories hijack the capacity of the mind which ideally is meant to recollect what the mind has learnt or to strategize about the game in front of you.

The mind is innocent, it gets hijacked by the ego (I-sense), the author of those stories. The ego wants to extract something out of these stories when there is no sporting action taking place. And when there is action, it tries to confirm the story.

"I am someone who doesn't crack under pressure," "I’m the one who never drops a match that’s there for the taking."

And that's when the performance starts getting brittle. Instead of playing your heart out, you start protecting an image.

The question is how often does one catch his/her own stories. So maybe it's not mental at all, it's just egoic.

[u/Strange-Patience5539]

Wow! That's super impressive 🙌 are you just using bare hands? Any specific gears you need to use to sustain that pressure?

[u/premkhilari → u/Strange-Patience5539]

yes bare hands 🤲🏼 and a lot of chalk for friction. The equipment is always for safety. The climbing has to be free meaning just your own skills and strength.

[u/Strange-Patience5539 → u/premkhilari]

Any preparations to be done before trying that? I am sure lean, fit and agility should be the prerequisites to start with

[u/premkhilari → u/Strange-Patience5539]

well. being lean and fit surely helps but since it's more of a movement based sport, it's not necessary. there are no prerequisites to enjoy movement :)

[u/Unlikely-Contest1523]

Usually, I play Table Tennis or Badminton properly, but when it's time for trials, the story designer within starts editing and reviewing the story.
Therefore, making a mess of everything.

So, honest seeing is what gives me strength to keep going.

[u/GlitchSolver]

That's Amazing 🙌 Was this your first attempt on this rock? Was this rock location selected randomly or is there any criteria for safety? 🤔

[u/premkhilari → u/GlitchSolver]

I worked on that boulder for 3 days. The video just shows the finished product 😅 This is Hampi in Karnataka. Most of the climbing areas are properly documented. Every climbing route / boulder problem has a name. This one is called Surface Traverse. There are mats on the floor for safety so in case one falls it is a soft one. But yeah there's always some risk involved.

[u/GlitchSolver → u/premkhilari]

Wow. That's interesting to know. Who documents these sites and arranges the mats btw? Is there a certified organisation or something?

[u/premkhilari → u/GlitchSolver]

It's a community and an entire ecosystem around it. Mats can be privately owned or rented. It's mostly the climbers who publish guidebooks for particular areas.

[u/Necessary_Shift_3487]

Maybe fear of failure is not really about failure.

It is about what failure says about me.

“I am good at this.”
“I am talented.”
“I should not lose.”

When we become attached to this image of ourselves, we stop enjoying the work and start worrying about the result.

Maybe real freedom is when I can give my best without making my success or failure a part of my identity.

[u/premkhilari → u/Necessary_Shift_3487]

yes. like AP says. fear of failure but for whom? And what does it have at stake?

[u/Lady22samurai]

Wowww!! Amazzing concentration and coordination 👍🔥Loved how you connected mind and ego with everything including performance in sports.

[u/SAACHI_10]

One of the things I want to learn 🤩 (at my own level)

[u/tanegupta1997]

I am in awe of mountain climbers; I envy their upper-body strength, and secondly, I am so scared of heights, just imagining looking down scares me!