幾週後在最新的一期Gym Climber雜誌上看到Adam Ondra的專訪,Climbing With Perfection那個區塊有幾個段落又讓我反芻上述的經驗
“…maybe you don’t have to climb in the best way if you are just so much stronger than the others. Of course, to have the whole combination helps, Because the worse your climbing is, the stronger you have to be.
…
Because in general, I like sport climbing more than bouldering because there are just so many details you can focus on. …”
“Maybe what I always try to focus on is not really grace in climbing, but efficiency. Efficiency is a very individual thing, I have to emphasize because I might climb the route in a certain way, and I know that for me, for my body type, strengths and weaknesses, that was perfect.”
最近看了一本書,Josh Waitzkin寫的《The Art of Learning:An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance》,會與這本書結緣,也是在學習「學習」這條道的閱讀中,見到他人推薦的。大塊文化有中文譯本《學習的王道》。(博客來連結:https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010445494 )
推薦書單: The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge(這本書真的很好看) Peak: Secret from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool(這本講關於deliberate practice的研究) Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success by Matthew Syed(作者是傑出桌球手,文筆相當好)
推薦書單: The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey
推薦書單: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy
非常開心在攀岩路上又多了個重要的里程碑。順利通過4/19-24在Red Rock Canyon的考試,成為AMGA(American Mountain Guides Association)認證的Rock Guide。
這條路走來還蠻長的,從第一階段2015年的Rock Guide Course,進入2016年的Advanced Rock Guide Course/Aspirant Exam,而當年底因為手術休息了好一陣子,加上我並非全職嚮導,所以累積必要的攀岩履歷拖了一陣子(每個階段都有履歷要求,而且得重新累積),本來盤算參加2018年秋季的考試Rock Guide Exam,卻因為我糊塗錯過報名時間,所以就變成今年春天了。
五天的實戰包括嚮導四天的多繩距路線(一人帶兩人,up to Grade 4),一天的運動攀登評量攀岩動作和能力。除了運動攀登那天稍微多睡了一個小時,其他天都是比太陽還要早起。第一天心情非常緊張,而每天多少都會有些小瑕疵,也只能激勵自己繼續往前看,第二天比第一天更好,第三天比第二天更好。。(然後回家發現Dave比我還要緊張。。。)
The Power Company和The Enormocast集數都很多,不過他們有個共通點就是主持人的話太多,尤其是The Enormocast的主持人很喜歡講自己過去的豐功偉業。個人覺得兩個人都不太會帶不熟悉的來賓,所以podcasts好不好聽要看來賓的功力,如果來賓本身很有組織常接受訪問或是經常演講的,那麼那集就會很好聽。
The Power Company上,我超級推薦訪問Trevor Ragan以及Dr. Jared Vagy的那幾集。包括
Episode 64: Fixed VS. Growth Mindset with Trevor Ragan
Episode 108: Motor Learning with Trevor Ragan from Train Ugly
在Mindset上他講到怎麼使用growth mindset,把挫折當作學習成長的機會,建立健康的學習環境。Motor Learning那一集,我覺得最有意思的是怎麼樣練習才能讓成果sticky,也就是能真正留下來,而不是像臨時抱佛腳那樣,考完就忘了。
而因為這兩集podcasts,我看了兩本書,一本是《Mindset: The New Psychology of Success》by Carol S. Dweck PhD。個人覺得如果你認同growth mindset和fixed mindset的差異,可能不需要整本讀完,因為所有的章節只是用不同的例子在重複類似的概念。
另外一本書是《The Brain That Changes Itself》by Norman Doidge, MD。我還沒有看完,因為太好看了,每一章都需要讓我掩卷沉思好好消化一番,所以讀不了太快。但是每一章都讓我學習到許多新知,多了很多新想法。超級超級推薦!!!
Episode 88: Climb Injury Free Pt.1 | Mobility with Dr. Jared Vagy
Episode 107: Climb Injury Free Pt.2 | Strength and Movement with Dr. Jared Vagy
Jared Vagy是《Climb Injury-Free》的作者,網站是theclimbingdoctor.com,那本書很平易近人,沒有過份刁鑽的詞語或是一堆解剖學。很實用。
The Power Company和The Trainingbeta我都是挑著聽,這兩個podcasts都有訪問Steve Bechtel的集數,我只要看到來賓是Steve Bechtel,我都必聽,因為他很能夠用一般人能夠理解的譬喻來講解攀岩訓練的概念,舉得例子經常都相當有趣。我聽過許多訪問他的podcasts,其實他的概念非常系統化,強調的原則其實就是那些,但因為他言語詼諧,沒有重複聽的感覺,反而會加深印象。Steve Bechtel的網站是climbstrong.com。
最後回顧一下我2018年讀過的書籍,以下這幾本我覺得有點意思。許多書應該有中譯本。
Peak Performance: Take Advantage of the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg
對我而言,這本書的角色是重要概念的提醒,尤其是睡眠的重要,以及人腦在專注力上並不是能夠多工(multi-tasking)的,所以要有效率,還是要一件一件事情來。
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
作者講故事的功力很高,我特別喜歡講Kindle和AWS的段落,以及Bezos屏棄開會使用Power Point而要求提供narratives的作法(我個人蠻贊同的)。
Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy
超有意思的一本書,一般我們都知道心態會影響表現,但是心與身的影響可不是只是單向而已,身體的動作可以會改變心情的。如何藉由身體的姿勢來達到身心而一呢?
The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu
這是個廣告主競爭人類注意力的時代,也是個人類的注意力破碎化的時代,怎麼重拾主控權呢?
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
我想我最喜歡的概念是─熱情是可以培養的。這是個漸進的過程。
Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Amy Wallace
這本書主要在講Pixar的故事,我喜歡裡頭一些在商場上非標準化的解決方式,以及Steve Jobs在Apple外的另一番面貌。
You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney
很有意思的小書,講心理學怎麼讓人類做出「惷事」
Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson
人類已經到了體能表現上的極限嗎?以跑馬sub-2 hours為經來鋪敘的故事
為什麼對我而言,這是個機會呢?簡單來說,對攀登者而言,文章能上《Alpinist》是很榮幸的,尤其如果這篇上了會是我的第二篇,如果只有一篇可能是運氣,能上兩篇就可以覺得自己有些實力。對我而言《Alpinist》不但是重量級的攀登雜誌,還有不少國際讀者。相對於美國其他較商業化的主流攀登雜誌《Rock and Ice》以及《Climbing》,文章刊在《Alpinist》上對我更有不凡的意義。(註,出《Rock and Ice》的雜誌社近年來的確開始重出比較嚴肅的《Ascent》,每年一期。《Alpinist》則是季刊,每年四期。)
不過因為其他工作的關係,我在今年一月初才交出第一稿,雖然花了很多時間,比起上一次算是快了一些些,還沾沾自喜,也許對英文的掌握進步了些也說不定。但是文章交出去,石沉大海,終於到五月中的時候才聽到Katie的確信,說是之前太忙現在可以開始編輯工作了。五月底收到所謂「第一輪的編輯意見」,我簡直頭都快昏了,重看了好幾遍之後,才終於提起勇氣寫第二稿,幾乎是整個重寫了,然後第三稿、第四稿,真體會到什麼叫做「絞盡腦汁。」在面對第五稿的時候,我崩潰了,狠狠哭了一場,怎麼辦呢?都到了這一地步了,難道放棄嗎?所以現在到了第六稿上,是真的接近尾聲了,至少Katie在email裡頭說,這稿交出去「Then we should be done」,也就是說最終稿會是第七稿。
The challenge of writing
Is to see your horribleness on page.
To see your terribleness
And then to go to bed.
And wake up the next day,
And take the horribleness and that terribleness,
And refine it,
And make it not so terrible and not so horrible.
And then to go to bed again.
And come the next day,
And refine it a little bit more,
And make it not so bad.
And then to go to bed the next day.
And do it again,
And make it maybe average.
And then one more time,
If you’re lucky,
Maybe you get to good.
「I see both light and dark in climbing. Through this recognition, true learning begins and a full awareness of the brevity of our time becomes clearer. It’s difficult to accept the fact that we cannot control everything in life, yet we still try, and maybe our path changes to something totally unexpected.」
(快譯:從攀登我看到光和闇。有這樣的認識,真正的學習開始,也更加清晰地意識到個人存在的短暫。很難接受人們無法掌控生命中的所有事物,但我們依舊嘗試,或許走出完全預期之外的生命之路。)
「Climbing can be an incredible catalyst for our growth. But I am beginning to realize that there’s a certain danger in making climbing the singular focus of your life because it can actually limit the opportunity for growth and reflection if you don’t stop, pause, breathe, and reflect.」
「When it comes to making sense of senseless death—and really, aren’t all climbing-related deaths “senseless” in hindsight?—what we’re “allowed” to say publicly is often very different from what we tell ourselves privately or whisper in confidence to those whom we trust.」
1. Eat Fat, Get Thin, Why the Fat We Eat Is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health by Mark Hyman
2. The Secret Life of Fat, The Science Behind the Body’s Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You by Sylvia Tara
3. Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently by David Ludwig
4. The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes(只聽了前面幾章)
5. Smart Fat, Eat More Fat, Lose More Weight, Get Healthy Now by Steven Masley