Sometimes, you can just be in a funk.

This past Wednesday was one of my most successful nights of rock-climbing. A couple of routes that had previously been difficult for me, I was able to get up without a sweat. One route that I have never been able to figure out how to finish, I solved (albeit after falling once or twice, but at least I discovered what to do next time and eventually got to the top). One route that I have always been too weak for, I am still too weak for, but at least I'm getting farther on it before tiring out. One route that I assumed I was too weak for, and as a result never tried, I got up with no problem whatsoever. And finally, one route that I have been too intimidated to even attempt bowed down before me (or well, kind of gave me a nod, as I only got half way up... but that's half way more than I thought I could).

I pushed myself to my limits, stepped out of my comfort zone, and tried harder routes than I ever thought I'd be able to do so soon. Even so, I was disappointed in myself and by the end of the night, none of these accomplishments mattered; I was drawn into a funk. The problem is that like so many others, I have a tendency to expect too much from myself. It didn't matter that I was pushing myself to try an entirely new difficulty level of routes; all that mattered was that even after a week of trying, I still fell. It didn't matter that over the past two months, my arms have gotten so much stronger than they have ever been; all I noticed was that my arms still tired out before hitting the top of this one difficult route in the corner. I couldn't kick the thoughts that I wasn't strong enough, talented enough, or graceful enough (yes, some people, such as Hannah, look extremely graceful when ascending a rock wall).

Objectively, I should have had an awesome time that night. I was climbing with some of my best friends. Some of my favorite rock wall personnel were on duty. There was a guy dressed as a zombie (typical Wednesday). Even when I fell on that corner route, I got to swing around in what I can only imagine was an extremely attractive way. Earlier that evening, I had gotten off of work earlier than expected which afforded me the opportunity to bike to the grocery store, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. But then I just kept getting hung up on every mistake or set back. I didn't take the time to enjoy what I was doing or realize how much I had accomplished; I focused only on my failures. This is not a good mind-set to have, but I know that it is something we've all gotten sucked into occasionally. For next time, I just need to keep in mind that the entire purpose of this is to enjoy myself, and that it is really easy to get disheartened when you have unrealistic, lofty expectations.

Have you ever expected too much only to be met with disappointment? What do you do to get yourself out of a funk? Should I be worried that zombies are apparently learning to scale rock walls?