30 Posts In 30 Days – Day 5: Overthinking

This is Day 5 of the 30 Posts In 30 Days Challenge I set for myself to start writing online. This post was originally published on X.

Struggle with overthinking?

Try climbing a wall while being trapped in your mind.

“Did I leave the stove on?” Ass on the floor.
“Did I screw up the project?” To the ground.
“Did I say something wrong?” Let the man fly.

You will stop overthinking in no time when you’re about to fall.

I’ve never been a very athletic person. I played football with friends when I was young. But I realized in my teenage years that I wasn’t very good at it.

The other kids were bigger, faster, and much more skilled than me.

Plus, I was much more interested in slaying dragons in video games.

Over the years I tried out a few things like running, lifting, or yoga. But nothing ever clicked for me, until I tried climbing.

Around 2019, climbing (bouldering that is) became very popular in my circle. Everyone was doing it. And so I decided to give it a try myself.

A friend took me and my girlfriend to the local climbing gym, to show us the basics. It was fun at first.

But it didn’t take very long until every inch of my body started to revolt about, well, pretty much everything.

The height, the exhaustion, the pumped forearms, climbing in front of other people.

But worst of all was the burning feeling in my hands and fingers, after only 30 minutes at the wall.

I felt so much pain and frustration in that first session. Face to face with the limits of my mental and physical abilities.

It was torture. But I loved it.

The longer I stood before the wall, the less likely I was going to climb. I was building up all these fears and expectations in my head.

“What if I fall?”

So I knew I had to take a quick look, figure out the path I wanted to take, and go.

For the first time in my life, I couldn’t think my way out of a situation. As soon as I would start thinking too much, I would fall down. It was ruthless, brutal, and frustrating.

It’s Saturday, which means I’m going to meet my friends at the local climbing gym today.

I know it will be scary.
I know it will be tough.
I know I will fall down.

The fear never went away. But with time and practice, I got used to it.

And I know I will feel much better and more present after banging my head against the wall – quite literally.

Stuck in your own head far too often? Find something that forces you to go beyond your physical and mental abilities. Again and again.

And if you haven’t tried it yet, give climbing a go. You don’t have to be athletic or anything. You just have to be willing to go again when you fall down.

There’s only one path you can take: All the way to the top.