Lewis HowesYour Personal 24/7 Greatness Coach

Overcoming FEAR With Alex Honnold...

28 Feb 2024 · 0 min

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In this brief interview, Lewis AI asks Alex Honnold about his current fears and how he maintains a clear mindset while confronting the ever‑present risk of death inherent in climbing. Honnold emphasizes that while climbing carries a constant, tiny chance of fatality, it is a sport where serious injury is rare, which he prefers. He explains that managing fear is an acquired skill built through repeated exposure to frightening situations; by repeatedly getting scared and learning to retain self‑control, he has become accustomed to fear. He also clarifies that he does feel fear, countering the misconception that elite climbers are fearless, and stresses that experience and habituation are key to maintaining composure under pressure.

What are you most afraid of these days?
You should definitely be aware that if you make a mistake you're gonna die. I mean, I kind of prefer a sport like climbing where you basically never get injured.
But you're always facing a tiny, tiny risk that you could die. What do you think has helped you keep your mindset.
So clear under challenging situations? I think there are a couple things. One is experience, like being in situations like that. Like basically getting really scared and then managing to maintain some degree of self-control when you're really scared. is a bit of an acquired skill. You just have to get scared over and over. People ask all the time, like, oh, you know, you don't feel fear. I'm like, no, of course I feel fear. I've just gotten scared so much, you know, you just get used to it.