Alex Honnold on How He Manages the Fear of Falling

[@apolloventureful]

Great show. Really good topic. People always talk about how Alex doesn't feel fear, or that his brain is just different from everyone else's. I believe these ideas are a disservice not only to Alex, but also everyone else. From everything I've ever heard Alex say, he experiences fear the same way as everyone else, but he just has years of conditioning and mental preparation to do the things he does. He knows his abilities and he knows what he is prepared for. Mystifying his fear response only acts as a barrier for people to overcome their own fears and accomplish their own goals and also only diminishes the amount of fear Alex has had to grapple with and his accomplishments.

[@jtk534]

a common device for sports documentaries is using medical tests to show the audience how different the athlete is from everyone else. I find it very cheap, as if the accomplishment wasn't enough for the audience to understand this person has special talent? the brain scan in Free Solo is an example of this, obviously we are watching a human who approaches fear differently and the medical test didn't show anything was really that different in his brain, and Alex repeatedly downplays that part of the doc when I see him interviewed on it.

[@caitlin.hardee]

exactly. People would prefer him to be just wired totally differently because it lets them off the hook - they can admire his accomplishments without feeling motivation's spur in their side to work hard for their own seemingly-impossible dreams. It's less convenient to realize that he was born with normal tendons and a normal fear response and still was able to make himself into what he is.

[@kellymcleod3610]

he has a very analytical/logical mind, it makes sense that he can apply that to his mental growth/training!

[@evinoshea5215]

These videos are great, but the podcast is even more fantastic! I'd highly recommend any episode.

[@MSHNKTRL]

Sometimes I believe that content creators intentionally misspell common words of theyre titles so that commenters feel more emboldened to comment as the need to assert ones presence and establish a jobs worth of authority is what really keeps people coming back when good content alone doesnt push all the buttons rage rage against the dying of grammar as punctuation has already fallen thank you for coming to my ted talk

[@MSHNKTRL]

@@thestruggleclimbingshow no, it's when the word "Afraif" appeared. I'll take my tinfoil hat off now.

[@MSHNKTRL]

@@thestruggleclimbingshow 2:22

[@p0t4t0nastick]

I always crank out some sick dance moves with your outro music, but to others it might look like I'm having an epileptic episode 😆

[@2rfg949]

great video. interesting questions.

[@Woman-Kisser]

This was a good interview

[@zacharylaschober]

To shift the idea of rational and irrational fears, Alex is definitely correct but is using "irrational" as a short hand, but the examples we have in climbing of being above a bolt in an overhang on quite new gear with a trusted belayer... this is rational and common to have because the severity and immediacy of the consequence magnifies our fear of the activity. However, this is one where exposure and breadth of positive and gradual experiences can allow you to ignore this fear, which is perfectly healthy to do. Then, you can approach situations with actual dangers and assess them correctly. Having trained enough sport climbers who apologize for taking or hesitating or backing off, or who try to force exposure unsuccessfully, or who criticize themselves for this whole situation, most seem to think that if they tell themselves hard enough that this is irrational that will solve. It isn't irrational and that won't solve it.

[@dkalir]

Next time I’ll eat Nutella, I’ll think of Alex…. But seriously, Alex is a true role model. And as to the comment about fear, Alex “fears” like us much like Michael Jordan throws a basketball “like us.” It simply not the same universe of feelings….

[@felicichris1369]

I think it’s legendary to compare soloing and unprotected sex.

[@Squids_Vlogs]

why the thumbnail look like breaking bad doe?

[@aunizthegrey]

Afraif 😉

[@thestruggleclimbingshow]

Covfefe

[@aunizthegrey]

So glad you found humor in it