You walk up to your project, prepare to pull off the ground, and your last thought is...

Sometimes I'll think beta reminders ("left hand first, then right cross match"), sometimes I think of important movement cues (like "lead with hips"), but recently I started gratitude mantras ("grateful for the health and strength to climb today!", "grateful to be outside with friends", "I like rock climbing!") and I kinda think these have been more successful at taking off the pressure and putting myself in the moment or refocusing on the joy and fun of climbing instead of the need to send.

I'm curious what everyone else is thinking!! Have you tried different things? What have you found works best for you?

Edit: Wow, such variety! Loving these responses! Seems we've got a range of categories like:

  • Empty brain/no thoughts, just climb
  • No nonsense - "alright", "let's go", "okeydokey", "here we go", "welp", "here goes nothing", "I get to climb this"
  • Positive inspiration - "it's all gonna be ok", "try hard", "let's do it!", "you're safe", "you got this", "100%", "strong and capable", "woke up today, might as well be a badass"
  • Negative inspiration - "don't suck", "don't fall", "don't embarrass yourself"
  • Beta and/or movement reminders - "slow is smooth and smooth is fast", visualization
  • Grounding thoughts - "breathe", "smile", focusing on senses, calming nerves
  • Just in the moment thoughts - "it's cold", "when did I last poop", singing, "why?", "I'm scared", "shit where's my jacket"