Hi everyone. This week I'm sharing an episode of Rethinking, a podcast hosted by my friend Adam Grant.

In the episode, we talk about my life since Free Solo, why I climb, and how I manage fear and stay calm under pressure.

If you enjoy my talk with Adam, consider following Rethinking to hear his other conversations

with interesting people, including Olympic medalist Alison Felix and Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban.

Find Rethinking wherever you get your podcasts. Now, on to the episode.

Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant.

Welcome back to rethinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick.

I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people

to explore how they think and what we should all rethink.

Today's guest is Alex Honnold.

You probably recognize him from the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.

He's that climber who did the unthinkable in 2018.

When he climbed El Capitan, a 3,000-foot rock wall in Yosemite National Park, any ropes. However insane it looks and sounds,

extremely insane. Someone who does something that dangerous with such excellence has a lot to

teach us about rethinking our own fears and goals. I want to go back to the very beginning and just start with asking you about the story of when you first discovered a love of climbing.

Oh, it's so far back at this point that it's hard to really remember because I've always loved climbing even before it was technically rock climbing.

You know, I climbed on buildings and trees and

play structures and walked on handrails and basically played. And then I discovered rock climbing at a

climbing gym when I was maybe 10 and then have been climbing full time since then, basically.

It's like I just love the movement of climbing. I love swinging around and like playing on the

holds.

So I want to spend most of this conversation talking about your psychology. And I know it's really tricky because you can't step outside of your own mind to witness it objectively.

...