🐢 Napkin math

Life becomes more meaningful when you appreciate how short it is.

I’m 30 years old. Generously, I have 50 to go. Some 20 of which will bear relative immobility come retirement age. Of the remaining 30, a fifth will be devoted to work, another third to sleep. That leaves me with ~14 years of usable “me time” on my hands. Yikes.

But now’s not the time for existential dread.

No. Now’s the time to celebrate my sending a soft v5/6 today. Which, for someone slap bang in the middle of the v4 plateau spurs hope of a rise, like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes, up to the lofty heights of the next plateau that I’ve aspired towards ever since I tied my self-worth to climbing higher grades. /s

⛵️ A beta break from work

I landed a job recently, which is cool. Even cooler would be sharing it to social media to harvest fake internet karma. But even then, would it ever compare to the feeling of sending a sketchy foothold slab dyno with a mantle top out?

Picture this. Prevailing over a long-term project boulder in the company of amigos and amigas, beaming from ear to ear, aggressively bigging you up and yeeting cheer, fist-bumps at the ready, pounding on the crash pad. That’s a rapturous, wholesome sensation, “a real kick”.

If I’ve learnt anything in the past 6 months of self imposed exile from the workplace (read: unemployment), it’s that a full life — a fulfilling life — on one axis straddles the line between what’s routine and what’s novel, and the other how much quality time you spend with people who “spark joy”.

That’s why climbing rocks. Yes for the novelty and puzzle solving. Mostly, it’s a magnet for fun people.

🪃 Hedonic swings and roundabouts

Ask yourself: if you see someone send a route you’re struggling with, despite any outward reaction, does it hit you more as inspiring or discouraging? To me, climbing has always been about good energy people celebrating one another’s wins, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t feel schadenfreude.

Please fail at the same crux point that I did 🤞

If you tie the success of a climbing session to how many hard climbs you send – or don’t send – you’ll end up frustrated. If you’re the type of person who compares themselves too closely to other climbers, you’ll just be frustrated. You’ll demotivate yourself and fade from the scene.

In spite of your own ego, folks aren’t nearly petty enough to conflate the highest grade you’ve ever climbed for how they should treat you. Optimising for grades is fine but if that’s the core focus then you’re missing the point.

Back to the Real World™. Barring those closest to you, people are generally apathetic towards your latest life milestone. They’re rightly too busy worrying about themselves to fill precious mental real estate with any of your wins. Enjoy the pat on the back while it lasts but don’t expect it to sustain your mental wellbeing for more than a hot beat.

🧶 Crux of the matter

Happiness comes in waves, but it correlates to the way in which you see the world in real time.

If you’re anything like me and only have 14 years of “me time” left, don’t waste energy being frustrated over gratuitous persuits of status, wealth, or even climbing grades. No one on approaching their deathbed ever wished they worked harder. The common thread is not taking life too seriously.

If you can do that, everything good will eventually follow.

Maybe even a v7.