Motivation derives from the sense that you will “get something” from an experience. Motivation is the fuel that drives your effort and increases or diminishes depending on whether or not you feel you’ll attain your goal. There are two main types of goals: end goals and process goals. Your motivation will behave very differently under the stress of a climbing challenge depending on which type of goal you are working toward. Understanding this difference and using it is key in maintaining motivation to stay committed during challenging climbing.

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End goals are such external things as climbing harder grades or redpointing routes. Process goals are the skills you learn in the process of your external achievements, internal things such as the ability to commit more completely or fall more safely. If you’re motivated solely by end goals, then as stress and difficulty increase during a crux, you see less chance of attaining your goal. The stress stands between you and your goal. Since motivation derives from the anticipation of attaining a goal, when you begin to pump out, end-goal motivation will tend to diminish. You say, “Why bother? I know I’m too pumped to get to the top.”

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If, however, you are motivated by process goals, then as stress increases you see a greater chance of attaining your goal-—improved skills. Your motivation increases. As your strength fades, you say, “One more move is valuable, so do it.”

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Most climbers are motivated by both ends and processes. End goals pick the stage where you will perform. They involve routes you want to climb or places you want to arrive where you’ll be satisfied (comfortable). End goals are realized after stress. Process goals concern the quality of the performance. They involve skills you want to learn, or stressful situations that provide learning opportunities. Process goals are realized during stress.

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It’s important to have both type of goals and to set them up in the correct hierarchy. If you want to maximize your performance, make process goals primary and end goals secondary. This way, you will be primarily motivated to engage in climbing situations that are stressful, creating an opportunity to learn and improve. You are secondarily motivated to find the most comfortable way through the stressful situation and attain the end goal of a redpoint or on-sight. Think of end goals as tests of how well you have learned your process goals.

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As living beings, we feel truly alive when we grow. Grounding our motivation in growth, in the challenge and stress that will actually cause us to grow, fuels the whole process. The source of our power and the application of it are connected, allowing our power to flow from our ground, through our being, and into our effort, as we apply it on a route. Valuing growth keeps our motivation consistent and connected to its source.