Chris Sharma: There's so many things to explore in life, and if you do...

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.

Chris Sharma

climbing creative sports

Keep it fun. Don't take it too seriously. At the same time, when you do feel inspired, take it seriously, too.

Chris Sharma

inspired feels fun

The best climbers have the will to hold on. They won't give up and keep trying over and over.

Chris Sharma

wont-give-up giving-up trying

Climbing is an artistic, creative thing; it's about being spontaneous, traveling, seeing the world, hanging out. It's a balance of setting goals while enjoying the process, being ambitious without being too competitive.

Chris Sharma

climbing creative goal

One of the things that separates climbing from other sports is how independent and personal it is. With most sports, you either win or lose, but climbing is about your own personal experience.

Chris Sharma

independent winning sports

In climbing, a fundamental thing is to want to do something you've never done before. That's the beauty of climbing, whether you're a girl or boy, seasoned veteran or beginner. You're not sure you'll be able to do this, but you try, and discovering you are capable is an amazing experience and an amazing feeling.

Chris Sharma

climbing girl boys

The rock still has something to teach me.

Chris Sharma

teach rocks stills

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.

Chris Sharma

mean art moving

Climbing is a full-body sport from your fingers to your toes, but at the same time, it's like a dance on the rock. It's about being strong and fit but also graceful and elegant and efficient on the rock.

Chris Sharma

rocks strong sports

The strongest climbers aren’t always the happiest or nicest to be around; neither are some of them coming from the purest motivation. Climbing another V17 is not going to save the world! This activity of 'rock climbing' is merely one of many ways to exist, pass the time, and evolve and grow from one moment to the next. That’s all.

Chris Sharma

climbing rocks motivation

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.

Chris Sharma

meditation-practice climbing thinking

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.

Chris Sharma

climbing who-i-am past

They kind of go hand-in-hand. Following your motivation, resting when you need to rest, and going for it when you feel inspired.

Chris Sharma

motivation hands needs

Climbing is an amazing, unique sport, and I want to share that with as many people as possible. I want to be an ambassador for the sport and raise the profile. I try to take advantage of any opportunity to share climbing with the world.

Chris Sharma

unique opportunity sports

We search out the most perfect pieces of rock. It's so amazing that these formations are so perfect for climbing on. It's almost as if they were created for climbing. You're taking these random rock formations and you're bringing to it this interaction. It transforms it from being this random rock into almost this piece of art. It's almost like a sculpture or something. Just by finding the handholds, finding that line up the rock. Every climb is different, has its own unique set of movements and body positions. Climbing and my appreciation for nature are totally intertwined.

Chris Sharma

unique appreciation art

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.

Chris Sharma

climbing journey running

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.

Chris Sharma

motivation fun jobs

I would like to be myself in life - my real self. My ego, though, is powerful and not necessarily working in my best interest all the time. Even when climbing I can't escape the clutches of my ego. The reason why I started climbing was because I could be free from myself.

Chris Sharma

climbing powerful real

There's a balance. Time and place for everything.

Chris Sharma

balance

I think I'm a pretty creative person. I love building things. I love working on my house. Landscaping, stuff like that.

Chris Sharma

creative house thinking

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.