Recently I started rock climbing. I was extremely trepidatious at the start. The only experience I had with climbing of any kind were those portable and ticket-able rock walls that would pop up on the boardwalks of NJ in the height of the summer tourist rush. The first couple of visits, I could barely get on the wall. My toes would slip, my fingers would release. Even when I was able to hold myself up, I was terrified of falling, of equipment failing me, of making a fool of myself in a crowded gym full of people who looked like they had been born doing this.
I’m still very new, I’m still learning. But every time I walk into the building, my silly little shoes in chalky hand, I decide that I’m going to do something hard. Because I can do hard things, and so can you.
I can make it to the top of the wall now. Not every time, and certainly not on every course. But sometime soon I will. Because I keep trying something hard.
