I’ve always believed that obsession can be one of the most powerful tools in hard climbing. Visualising daily, thinking deeply about a project, and keeping it alive in your mind can create clarity, direction and belief.

But this week, a conversation with my friend John made me question whether obsession is always useful.

John told me that with his own project, Sufferance, he reached a point where he had to mentally distance himself from it completely. He stopped visualising, stepped away, and almost forgot the route existed for a month.

As soon as he suggested I might need to do the same with Free at Last, something clicked.

In this episode, I talk through the difference between commitment and attachment, why caring deeply can sometimes turn into pressure, and why stepping away from a project isn’t the same as giving up. Sometimes the thing that helped you progress can become the thing that keeps you stuck.

Maybe the answer isn’t always to stay more obsessed. Maybe sometimes, you climb better when you let something go for a while.

Id. d’épisode : 1000775029212

GUID : 2e2e72b5-56da-4893-bcac-65f96cfbe557

Date de publication : 1/7/2026 à 17:52:48