The Mental Strategies of Elite Climbers: What represents *Your* Everest?

So You Want to Get To “The Top”?

In this article, we discuss an interesting piece of research written by Burke and Orlick, which identified the mental strategies used by elite Mount Everest climbers.

Before we explore this further, let’s recap on some of the earlier pieces we’ve discussed in earlier articles …

We’ve discussed concepts like mental skills; mental toughness and the connection between thoughts, feelings and behavior. We’ve also talked about Terry Orlick’s research that identified the mental skills (e.g. commitment and belief; full focus and positive self-talk) that underpin excellence in a range of fields including sport, medicine and business.
In addition, we talked about mental toughness and the Jones et al (2002) research that defined mental toughness as having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:-

• Generally cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer.
• Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident and in-control under pressure.

To begin then … some research by Burke and Orlick (2004) identified the mental strategies used by elite Mount Everest climbers.

An emerging body of research has demonstrated that a combination of mental skills and toughness can make the difference to performance in tough situations where people must perform to their optimum. We think climbing Mount Everest probably qualifies.

You may well be thinking, “what has climbing mountains got to do with me and the challenges I face in my work environment?”

Well, the lessons that can be drawn from this research are of use to anyone ‘in pursuit of a big vision or extremely difficult goal.’ You don’t necessarily need to be climbing the highest mountain in the world, and goals such as excelling in your market niche or becoming well-known and respected in your industry or growing your business to the level you want to achieve is a significant enough vision or goal. If this applies to you – and you have a big vision or difficult goal to achieve – then you might want to keep reading… because this article highlights the key strategies identified by the researchers and considers the implications for those of us facing significant challenges in our working environments.

Detailed Planning

Preparing to climb Everest is obviously a complex and challenging endeavor. A key factor that emerged from the research was the importance of committing to thorough planning. We have discussed in previous blog posts the importance of focusing on the controllables and meticulous planning and tracking of those controllable factors emerged as a key factor underpinning the success of the elite mountaineers. The following quote illustrates this factor,

“I believe that it is all about the planning and preparation. Understanding what you are getting into and understanding to a point that it is intuitive. Everything that you are doing you don’t want to have to think about it, you want to do it naturally. Building in redundancy and contingency factors should you come across a setback so you can step back and assess the obstacle and deal with it because you planned it out thoroughly. I learned everything I had to learn about the subject matter in order to eliminate possible setbacks.”

- Climber 5

Implications #1

What does meticulous planning and preparation mean for you? How well do you plan? Do you build in redundancy and contingency factors? Do you even have a plan? Do you invest enough time in the planning stage? What kinds of things can go wrong? What can you do to minimise the likelihood of those things going wrong? What can you do to minimise the impact of those things if they go wrong? How much do you know about your subject matter? Think you’ve done enough? Think very carefully about that answer.

Mental Toughness

Mental strength emerged as key to coping with obstacles. The climbers talked about the importance of being able to cope positively and not be deterred even when faced with incredible physical and mental obstacles.

“People often ask me what it takes to do Everest and to be honest it is a life time of suffering. That is what you can draw on, that ability to say I can sustain the suffering.”

- Climber 1

We are not saying that you must suffer in order to deliver excellence! What this quote implies is the importance of being able to build resilience and remind yourself in difficult times of your ability to be “determined, focused, confident and in-control under pressure.”

Focus

The ability to fully focus on the task at hand is a component of Terry Orlick’s Wheel of Excellence. This ability to maintain focus in demanding conditions was key to success for the mountaineers interviewed. This mental skill enabled the climbers to “eliminate distractions, keep concentrated on the task at hand, and achieve their day-to-day, moment-to moment objectives.”

Implications #2

Think back over the day you have just had. How much time have you spent engaged in the task at hand and how frequently have you been distracted? If keeping focused is a problem you should read the earlier mental excellence blog which looked specifically at this skill. Developing your focusing skills will make you significantly more efficient and effective in all aspects of your life.

Short Term Goal-Setting

“Don’t aim for the end goal just yet, because you have to go through all the obstacles along the way. I always kept that in mind. I said to myself, I am going for the top, that is my goal, but I am going to go through it step by step.”

- Climber 6

This quote illustrates the value of setting short term goals. It is important to have clear long term goals but focusing on the long term goal won’t necessarily help you move towards it.

Implications #3

What are your goals for tomorrow? What are your goals for this week? Next month? Six months from now? For more detail about effective goal setting you might want to look back at Day 2 of the mental excellence blog series.

Belief in Your Capacity

“I failed on Everest four times before reaching the summit on my fifth attempt. What made the fifth attempt different was that I really had the confidence that I could do it. I trained a whole lot harder and as a result I felt stronger physically. I think that was the major difference concerning my mental state.”

- Climber 7

Self-belief can make the difference between success and failure and this quote demonstrates the power of self-belief. Reliving previous successes and the achievement of short term goals will enhance your self-belief.

Look back at Day 3 of our mental excellence series when we looked in depth at self-belief if you feel that this is an area where you are lacking.

“Sometimes you just need the belief in yourself to get through the many obstacles. I realized that they didn’t stop me, it was questionable at times but somehow it worked and I made it through so many obstacles. And, that has given me the self-confidence to go after other obstacles.”

- Climber 10

Implications #4

How confident are you about your own capacity and skills? How much effort are you putting in to achieving your goals? What happens when you hit a setback? How much self-belief do you really have? Identifying your limiting beliefs can be a big step towards getting to your goal. Sometimes you just need to keep putting one foot in front of another.
What have we learnt from these elite Mount Everest climbers? Quote simply – mental skills and toughness has the ability to enhance performance in the very toughest of environments.

Hopefully your work environment is not a life threatening place but you may still be facing some significant challenges. Investing in your mental skills and developing your mental toughness will enable you to successfully reach whatever summit your sights are set on.

If you work in a business setting, you may not be facing a life-threatening situation. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from those that do.

Tags: commitment, contingency, control, dealing with obstacles, elite climbers, full focus, goal setting, mental skills, mental strength, Mental Toughness, Mount Everest, planning, positive self evaluation, positive self-talk, self-belief, suffering, Terry Orlick, wheel of excellence