Warriors Way » Arno’s Blog

Power

Arno — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:18 +0000

Listen to this eLesson here: eLesson_2012-0514a

I want to feel powerful, don’t you? Don’t you want to feel like you can deal with whatever occurs while climbing? There can be many definitions or formulas for power. One formula describes power as a function of energy applied during a given amount of time. Let’s use this as we investigate how using attention effects how powerful we are.
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Power = energy / time
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Your ability to use your energy effectively in a given amount of time is dependent on how well you use your attention. Therefore the Warrior’s Way defines power as the amount of attention one can focus in the present moment on the current task. We could say that warriors use attention impeccably because of this ability. Attention is focused on executing a task, using the precise amount of energy in the most optimal amount of time. Knowing which task needs attention, and then focusing 100% of your attention on that task, allows you to exert the maximum amount of power.
We have intellectual power when we use our minds and experiential power when we use our bodies. Passive, habitual thinking distracts attention. Active, critical thinking demonstrates we have our attention focused on what we need to think about. Doing this allows us to use our intellectual power effectively to gather information about a risk. Then we release our experiential power when we make a decision.
Experiential power is demonstrated by how effectively and completely we commit our bodies to climbing. Do we apply just the amount of energy at the precise time to execute a task? Or, are we rushing through the stress or stalling out?
In the next several lessons we’ll investigate areas that impact power. We’ll investigate:
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The importance of resistance
How to grow power
Efficient use of power
Maintaining power
Controlling power, and more.

Warriors are powerful because they use attention impeccably.

Types of Fears

Arno — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:07 +0000

There are many types of fears, but most types are rooted in fear of death. Death represents an ultimate unknown, an ultimate stress or discomfort, so we fear it. A more typical form of “fear of death” that we experience in our climbing is fear of discomfort.

We may experience fear of failure or success, or “failing” in front of others. These fears originate from our egos. Our egos feels diminished when we fail and don’t perform to others expectations. We fear succeeding because we feel others will expect us to continue to perform at that new level. These situations are all uncomfortable for our egos. Ego-based fears threaten our psychology.

We may fear heights, falling, or exerting effort. These fears originate from the situation. Situational fears heighten concerns about our physical safety. We fear heights because we feel exposed. We fear falling because we could become injured. Then there’s fear of exerting effort. A challenging route will push us outside our comfort zones. Since we desire comfort we tend to fear such exertion. Situational fears threaten our physiology.

The origin of all these fears is fear of death and discomfort. They occur because our attention has been distracted from the present moment. Regardless of the illusory fear, our minds are thinking of what will happen in the future instead of what is happening in the present. With our attention in the moment, focused on the current task, all these fears will diminish or be eliminated.

Clarifying Fears

Arno — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:18 +0000

Click here to listen: eLesson_2012-0416

There are many types of fears, which we’ll dig into in the next lesson. In this lesson we’ll look at how to clarify fears. Fears come in two varieties: survival and illusory. Survival fears move us to take action, either fighting through a challenge or fleeing from it. Survival fears are helpful because they move us to take action. They are unhelpful because fighting through a challenge uses our energy inefficiently and our motivation is on just getting through the stress instead of enjoying it. Illusory fears are the ones that freeze us at stances, not knowing what to do. These are the ones we need to clarify.
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First, it’s helpful to understand illusory fears as a lack of attention in the moment. By redirecting our attention to the moment, focused on the current task, we eliminate or diminish these fears. Redirecting our attention, to the moment and the current task, is always the first step in dealing with fears.
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Next, illusory fears tend to create ambiguity. This is largely due to not being engaged enough in the situation. Questions can arise that need to be answered. If we dwell on the question we’ll stay frozen at our stance, not knowing what to do. Does the fear come from the possible fall? Am I afraid because it will be uncomfortable exerting all the required effort? Am I afraid of failing in front of my friends?
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To clarify fears, and answer such questions, requires engagement. Taking action moves us out of our comfort zones. Once engaged, our attention becomes focused on the actual situation rather than our mind’s interpretation of it. We’ll soon know if we need to continue or retreat based on the increased stress and heightened awareness of the consequence. To clarify illusory fears, then, requires engagement.

What if

Arno — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:29 +0000

Click here to listen: eLesson_2012-0402

What if the rope breaks? What if my protection fails? What if I fall? What if my belayer doesn’t give me a proper catch when I fall? What if the climbing is too difficult for me?

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Asking such questions tends to shut down the climbing process. The biggest mistake we make is not asking such “what if?” questions, but rather not answering them. The answers will hi-light the full consequence. Then we can investigate what actions we can take to mitigate the consequence.

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What if my rope breaks? Well, I’ll fall to the ground and either injure or kill myself. So, to mitigate that outcome I can check my rope.

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What if my protection fails? Well, I’ll fall twice as far as I expected to. So, to mitigate that outcome I can retreat if the gear isn’t solid or I can double up my protections placements.

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What if I fall? Well, I’ll fall 20 feet and hit a ledge. So, to mitigate that outcome I can place more protection or retreat if I can’t place more protection.

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What if my belayer doesn’t give me a proper catch? Well, I will be short-roped and slam into the rock harder. So, to mitigate that outcome I can train my belayer to give a cushioned catch.

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What if the climbing is too difficult for me? Well, I will fall. So, to mitigate that outcome I can practice falling so I know how to respond to falls.

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What if I ask a “what if?” question and don’t answer it? Well, you’ll be shut down on a route. So, to mitigate that outcome, answer the question.

Keep Attention Expanded

Arno — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:28 +0000

Click here to listen: Audio eLesson 2012-0319

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I’m half-way out the 40-foot roof of Gilgamesh placing a large cam. I’m pumped but able to place it. I doubt my muscles can hold my present position, with even more doubt about continuing. My attention begins to contract.

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Climbing a difficult route is stressful and attention will contract under that stress. With attention contracted our thinking and actions will also contract. Our minds will begin to doubt and our bodies will tense and stop moving. Attention contracts our thinking and actions at the precise moment when we need to stay engaged. How can we keep our attention expanded?

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First, don’t become overwhelmed. This is challenging when climbing a route such as Gilgamesh. Being up-side-down is a strange position to be in and there is a sense of not being able to stop to rest for the entire roof. Yet, it’s still made up of subtle rest stops, positions to place cams, and sequences to climb. It’s a helpful reminder to NOT make it more than it actually is.

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Second, I know that I’ll need to keep attention on processes such as breathing, relaxing, and continuous movement. Setting an intention to keep attention on these processes will help me redirect attention to them when stress begins its effect on me.

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Finally, having a coach that isn’t stressed, such as my belayer, can help. She can remind me to stay open to possibilities, to breathe, relax, and “make the next move.” Her coaching can help me notice when my attention contracts my thinking and actions. I notice my doubts more easily and redirect my attention to possibilities. I notice my body tense and redirect my attention to relaxing, breathing, and making the next move.

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I’ve been on Gilgamesh eight times. Reminding myself of processes to focus on and my belayer’s helpful coaching has accelerated my progress. I’ve climbed it with only one fall. I’ll be returning to Gilgamesh in April to refine my application of these processes.

Expand Focus

Arno — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:26 +0000

Article: What We Focus On Expands

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What we focus on expands. More specifically, what we focus our attention on will expand what we think about and what actions we take. How we relate to stress determines whether our thinking and actions expand our attention in a helpful or unhelpful way.

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First, do we see stress as a problem or opportunity? All learning will include some degree of stress so we need to embrace it. Let’s look at the stress associated with falling. “I dread falling” is framed as a problem to avoid. I refer to this way of thinking as “problem focus.” We could also see stress as an opportunity. “I’m curious about falling” is framed as an opportunity to engage. I refer to this way of thinking as “opportunity focus.”

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Next, our attention will expand a problem OR an opportunity. “I dread falling” expands attention of thought processes and actions to avoid falling. We’ll think of routes we want to climb that are comfortable for us and avoid stressful ones. A “problem focus” tends to cause actions that keep us in our comfort zones so we don’t learn.

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“I’m curious about falling” expands attention of thought processes and actions to engage falling. We’ll think about how to fall and routes where we could practice falling safely. An “opportunity focus” tends to cause actions that move us outside our comfort zones so we can learn.

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To be mentally fit we need to identify clearly what the tasks are in climbing. Doing this will expand our attention to think about and then act on those tasks. There are tasks to do when we stop to think, tasks to do when we commit to climbing, and tasks to do when we fall.

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Climbing is an opportunity we choose to engage. No one is forcing us to climb. Whether we are thinking, taking action, or responding to a fall, if we see stress as an opportunity–not a problem–then our attention will expand to maximize that opportunity.
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Concentration

Arno — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:57 +0000

Concentration focuses attention either broadly or narrowly. We use a peripheral focus when concentrating attention broadly so that attention is spread out in the whole field of view. Doing this helps us see all the information in a situation. We use a convergent focus when concentrating attention narrowly so that attention is only on one part of the situation.
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We can focus attention narrowly to think through a risk during preparation or execute a crux move. Some situations, like redpointing, require us to follow through with our well developed plan. We have gathered all the information we need from our rehearsal of the route. During the redpoint effort, we need to narrow our focus to the specific sequences we’ve worked out. In redpointing we need to concentrate attention on our well developed plan and keep it from straying to other options.
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We can also focus attention broadly to gather as much information as possible and blend well with the route. Situations, such as on-sighting, require us to take in as much information as possible so we don’t miss crucial holds. However, since we’re unfamiliar with how to use those holds, we need to stay open to modifying our climbing plan. When on-sighting we need to concentrate attention broadly to modify our plan and keep it from straying to an old plan that doesn’t work anymore.
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Ultimately it isn’t as “black and while” as I’ve described above. We need to find a balance between narrow and broad concentration of attention. In both redpointing and on-sighting, we need the ability to narrow attention when needed AND broaden attention when needed.
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When redpointing, for instance, we focus narrowly during critical crux moves, but in general keep attention broadly focused so we stay open to dealing with the stress of the effort. When on-sighting, we focus attention more broadly when gathering information, but narrow attention once we’ve decided what to do. We may shift between narrow and broad many times. The key is to know whether we’ll stick to our plan because we’re redpointing or modify our plan because we’re on-sighting.
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Stop Thinking

Arno — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:44 +0000

One of the strangest concepts student encounter in the Warrior’s Way clinics is the concept of “not thinking.” Many students believe our minds think all the time, therefore, we must think during climbing. They don’t initially understand the difference between thinking and awareness. Yet, this is the critical shift that is needed to begin developing awareness and improving mental fitness.
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Thinking is important when we stop, to gather information, assess risks, and make a decision. Once this is accomplished we need to stop thinking. It can be challenging to stop thoughts. In fact, we don’t stop thoughts from entering our minds. Thoughts occur constantly in the mind. Thinking is what our mind does. Rather, we focus attention on engagement with our bodies.
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Attention is focused on bodily, somatic processes such as breathing, relaxing, and moving. This will be a continual process. As stress increases, our attention will drift back to thinking, which will create many thoughts (doubts) to stop our commitment. Simply notice the thoughts and immediately redirect attention to breathing, relaxing, and moving. This noticing is awareness. The important point here is that we DON’T stop thoughts, we redirect attention. With attention on breathing, relaxing, and moving, thoughts diminish.
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Willpower

Arno — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:43 +0000

Article: The Limits of Willpower
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What does it mean to have an iron will, to use your willpower to deal with stress and improve mental fitness?
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Willpower tends to focus on forcing a situation to what you want it to be. You lack proficiency with a skill, yet you use your will to force the outcome to what you desire. Let’s say you’re afraid of falling. You desire to be free of this fear. So, you use your willpower to force yourself to commit to climbing and push the fear out.
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This approach doesn’t improve awareness of the skills you lack; it covers up that deficit. You’re interested only in what you want the outcome to be, not what you need to learn. This isn’t aligned with the learning process or with developing awareness.
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Being afraid of falling has merit. Don’t ignore it. That fear stops you from taking inappropriate risks. Rather, find ways to gain experience to improve your skills. Do this by practicing falling. It’s important to see reality as clearly as possible and then take actionable steps to move through fears. Instead of using willpower, you need to improve your ability to what the situation requires, not the other way around. This builds awareness power, not willpower.

Positive Thinking

Arno — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:12 +0000

Article: Positive Thinking Sucks
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A common question I hear from climbers is: “How can I get rid of my negative thinking?” They believe negative thinking hinders their performance; they would like to replace it with positive thinking. Does negative thinking have to be changed into positive thinking? Or, should we move beyond negative and positive thinking altogether?
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What improves awareness? Negative and positive are two aspects of the same reality. They balance each other. If we ignore the negative and enhance the positive then we limit our awareness and understanding of reality. Positive thinking essentially says negative thinking is wrong; it needs to be changed into positive thinking.
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Positive thinking can be equated with rearranging the furniture in our minds. We don’t like the furniture in its current arrangement so we switch it around to what we do like. This does nothing for improving mental fitness or awareness. Developing awareness seeks to remove the furniture completely.
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The world is made of cycles. We cannot always think positively. Eventually negative thinking will exert itself to bring us back into balance. Don’t push out negative thinking or replace it with positive thinking. Instead, develop awareness by moving beyond negative or positive. We do this by redirecting our attention to the task in the present moment.
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Developing awareness requires that we see reality completely, not in a biased, positive or negative manner. Starting from a foundation of developing awareness allows us to take a step back and see both negative and positive aspects of reality. Doing this helps us assess risks better and take appropriate risks.
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