The Edge
Three Life Lessons from Rock Climbing
Anyone can be happy and cosy. Nothing good happens in the world by being happy and cosy — Alex Honnold, Free Solo
Prologue: The World Calls Me ‘Risky’
I recently took to rock climbing at a local gym. At first, it didn’t seem much — a straight (artificial) rock wall with markers and placeholders to put your hands and feet on to scale the rock wall. Follow the markers, place your hands and feet progressively upwards on the placeholders and you reach the (artificial) summit. What seemed like an innocuous hobby turned out to be a great learning experience. I learnt valuable lessons applicable specifically to my work and to my life in general.
To accurately describe my experience, I need to provide you with a backdrop. The world describes me as a thin, wiry individual. I prefer a better description — lean muscle. The world would call me a geek. I prefer to not put labels on people — everyone is a legion (multiple personalities rolled into one). The world and my mother call me ‘risky’. I prefer to describe my adventures (sky diving from 10,000 feet above the ground, scuba diving with tiger sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, rock climbing, flying an airplane and a failed attempt at bungee jumping)…
