This year, my only New Year’s resolution was to be a badass. I didn’t really know what that would mean when I made the resolution, but I knew it was important. I had a vague notion of wanting to be more confident and try things outside of my comfort zone.
Turns out I had no idea what I was getting into, because this is the year I discovered climbing.
Now I’m beginning to see just how much of a badass I can actually be. Despite the favorite refrain of my brain (“I can’t!”), I have learned that I am capable of things I never imagined.
I can climb routes in the gym that I would have considered impossible six months ago.
I can scale 90-foot walls of real rock, even when I want to give up because it’s hard.
I can lead a climb for the first time ever, outside, without even yelling take.
None of this might seem badass to you (or it might!), but that’s not what matters. What matters is that I’m pushing my limits, even when – especially when – I’m scared.
Feeling the fear and moving forward anyway is what makes a badass to me.
So if I make it all the way down the descent of a steep hike, which is always a terrifying experience for me, that is badass, even if everyone else has been waiting for 10 minutes in the parking lot.
Still, sometimes the fear gets the best of me, and I get stuck. And that’s okay, too, because part of being a badass is noticing when fear is stopping you and figuring how to work through it, whether in the moment, the next time you try, or eventually.
Now my permanent resolution is to become more of a badass, every day and every year.
I hope you become a badass, too, whatever that means to you.
More badasses make the world better.