I have done a fair bit of meditation practice, but I think through climbing it's definitely an easier way for me to tap into that mental state of being present and in the moment, very in tune with your body. But not in an intellectual way. Just really responding to the moment, where you don't have time to think.

When you do hard routes, you have to try hard. They're not easy routes. You have to give everything you have. You have to get totally animalistic. When you're super pumped, I have to yell to bear down. [...] It's like martial arts. When Bruce lee threw a punch, he had to mean it. Haahhh! Like that. When you're doing a hard move, there is this excess energy you have to let out. Air explodes out of you.

That's what's so amazing about climbing - it's not just a sport. It's a lifestyle, it's a way of being creative, of connecting with yourself and with nature.

There's so many things to explore in life, and if you don't have that inspiration or motivation to do it, then don't force yourself. Take that time to do whatever else you need to do. That inspiration or motivation will always come back and when it does, it's always stronger.

Climbing is this long term, lifelong journey. It's really important to just take your time with it and keep it fun. I've seen a lot of people burn out because it starts becoming this job for them. It stops being fun. For me, it's been really important to keep it enjoyable. Listen to your motivation.

For me now, I feel that climbing is a part of who I am. It's my way of life. It's my way of expressing myself. My way of being in the world. In the past, I questioned it a lot. Now it's obvious. This is who I am. This is what I do.

Climbing is my lifelong journey. And in the same way you go running and you have days where you really feel in tune, you have some days where you don't feel that good. It's this never-ending process. Accepting that and enjoying that for what it is, that's really where the life of climbing is.