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lou_dale
Aug 7, 2005, 11:58 PM
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My name is Lou and I personally have seen many faces of ego - some i believe are good, some - maybe not so good initially. i say initially because we've all been at a place where we wanted that pat on the back, i can do this and i'm great at that, etc. this would be maybe the ego that gets us to engage the challenge of climbing in general. ego - or what i consider the personality - which is multi-layered - can change our views on wow, what a challenge to - i can't do that because i'm not as good as him or her next to me - comparison - fear-based.
however - even at its - not worst but not best - as long as you learn something from the ego and are able to step outside of yourself and examine what caused you to do what you did, say what you said, feel the way you felt - maybe then, ego has value to learn. an example would be a race i was running. what started as a challenge, turned into - i have to place which quickly turned into i need to be FIRST - next thing i know, ego has me beating the best time ever in history. all in my head - and this is when ego was running wild - in the process of me listening to ego instead of just enjoying the experience (and we can relate this to anything in life, especially in climbing i think) - i injured myself. i really really injured myself.
i barely was able to walk after the race. if ego had had a face or body other than mine, it was at LEAST 7 feet tall - and had a really really big fat head - HOWEVER - i walked away from this experience understanding what had happened. stepping outside of yourself - being able to objectively look at the face your ego shows - can bring lessons to remember and learn from.
it was more important AFTER the race - to be able to run again - to walk again.
i think ego plays a valuable role in our learning and growing - in all areas of our lives, climbing included. stepping outside of yourself and looking at the experience objectively can help you learn if you are willing to look honestly at yourself and the part ego played in the scenerio.
i have seen it show itself as me being inferior, to me being superior, comparisons, being afraid of failing (when i hadn't even started) - in all things. but understanding this and understanding that i'm here to learn from all experiences - stepping outside of yourself to understand what role ego played - initially, maybe it hinders - looking at it with different eyes - as long as you can learn from your experience - maybe it can help too.
i think it's another part of paradox - good/bad - up/down - light/dark - it can have a dark affect on you if you can't learn from it and if you can, a light affect - positive/negative, etc.
thanks for listening.
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_fiend_
Dec 21, 2005, 11:04 PM
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[In reply to: So, what do you think?
Yes I agree, ego in the way you mentioned it, I find it a hinderance. Maybe it isn't for some people, but it is for me. It's also not the most inspiring thing to witness in other people.
Thinking "this is what I am, I should be able to do this", defining yourself by your ability, defining yourself by your standard instead of using it as a guideline ....these are problematic. I have them lead to disappointment and frustration. Too many expectations, too much pressure.
This also leads to comparisons and competitiveness, which are fruitless in climbing as you're just part of the continuum.
I keep having to remind myself to keep avoiding getting too wrapped up in my ego. Pretty hard thing to do when I'm keen to progress, and how I climb fluctuates so much, but I try.
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saltamonte
Dec 21, 2005, 11:24 PM
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It depends a bit on how your ego expresses itself and a bit on your climbing ability allow me to explain
if you are have a huge ego (you believe very highly of yourself) then your ego can provide you with the added confidence necesary to pull off a dicey move a person with a balanced self image would dread. this would be a positive effect
if your ego translates into a normal self image but an obsession with portraying your self as more than what you feel you are in front of people (this is very common amoung egomaniacs) then your ego will create an additional fear failure while attempting a move it could raise the stakes and your nervousness level about each move which would negatively affect your climbing
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degaine
Dec 22, 2005, 7:25 AM
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In reply to: if you are have a huge ego (you believe very highly of yourself) then your ego can provide you with the added confidence necesary to pull off a dicey move a person with a balanced self image would dread. this would be a positive effect
I would think this has more to do with composure than ego.
Just my humble opinion.
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reg
Dec 22, 2005, 1:29 PM
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ego ALWAYS get's in the way! when i played tabletop shuffle board
i would play V. much better if i looked at the other end of the table just once then looked down at the shuttle - felt it's weight and the amount of friction then let 'er go. the ego-conscious mind is all conflicted! the sub-conscious is where it's at. someone else's words put it well:
" close your eyes so that you may see "
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saltamonte
Dec 22, 2005, 11:30 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: if you are have a huge ego (you believe very highly of yourself) then your ego can provide you with the added confidence necesary to pull off a dicey move a person with a balanced self image would dread. this would be a positive effect I would think this has more to do with composure than ego. Just my humble opinion.
composure is the term we use for calm in the face of dificulty my argument isn't that ego replaces it only that it could potentially increase it. So yes i agree what i described could also be said "an inflated self image might increase your composure"
to illustrate i simply recal to memory world records that stood for years like the 4 minute mile or even better though i forget which event exactly one of the weight lifting records that stood at an even number like 400 or 500lbs many people lifted near that weight but none surpassed it, untill one day a trainer put extra weight on the bar with out telling the weight lifter the weight lifter was told it was just under the record and so he lifted it and in doing so set a new record, and proved that it could be done and very shortly there after several others also lifted above the previous record. My point is that when you expect to be able to do something it increases your ability to actually do it. and that is how a large ego could help you climb. of course many people are just trash talkers we may percieve them to have big egos but they actually have very low self esteem or should i say low expectations of their abilities and those people would not be benefitted by their talk at all. Since their talk is only words and not an accompanying expectation.
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arnoilgner
Dec 28, 2005, 8:33 PM
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Hi _fiend_
Your comment: I keep having to remind myself to keep avoiding getting too wrapped up in my ego. Pretty hard thing to do when I'm keen to progress, and how I climb fluctuates so much, but I try.
How do you measure "progress?" The foundation of the warrior's way is valuing learning. Each climbing experience offers you an opportunity for learning. Perhaps it would be helpful for you to redefine progress to how receptive you are to what can be learned from each climbing experience.
What do you think?
arno
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