How Not to Die | How Alex Honnold Trains His Mind to Stay Calm 3,000 Feet Above Ground

Michael Gervais (0:00)

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Alex Honnold (1:28)

In my case with Free Soloing, the consequences are almost always death. Like for the most part, if you fall off, you're going to die.

Michael Gervais (1:33)

We understand the psychology of excellence, and we understand what a great mindset means and how to be great with fear. And then there's Alex Honnold. Welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high-performance psychologist. Now the whole idea behind these conversations, it's pretty simple. To sit with the extraordinaries and learn about how they work from the inside out. Today's guest is legendary climber, Alex Honnold. Best known for his Free Solo ascent of El Capitan, meaning climbing nearly 3,000 feet of sheer rock face. No ropes, no safety lines. All of this was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.

Alex Honnold (2:17)

You have to have a lot of, not just self-belief, but belief in the goodness of the world in order to put yourself out there and try something that hasn't been done or try to push. In your 20s, you're constantly surprising yourself. You're like, I did something I didn't think I could do. It was incredible. Now I'm rewriting what I think I'm capable of. It's freaking hard work and especially as I get older, it's probably harder and harder work. You surprise yourself with your own success less often.

Michael Gervais (2:40)

We explore the mindset behind the climber. How Alex organizes his inner life towards mastery.

Alex Honnold (2:45)

Most people that say they're afraid of heights are actually just afraid of falling off an edge and dying. You're like, well, that's totally well founded. You should be afraid of falling to your death. I don't want to fall off something. It's just that I'm very confident that I'm not gonna fall off most things.

Michael Gervais (2:56)

How he manages risk, consequence and fear with a rare clarity.

Alex Honnold (3:01)

I would prefer to use risk to describe the likelihood of something happening and the consequences being what will happen if that thing does happen.

Michael Gervais (3:08)

We also talk about fatherhood and how he's no longer just chasing the next step.

Alex Honnold (3:12)

I still love sending, but I know that sending the hardest things in the world will only last for at the most another decade. But what do I do with the other 40 or 50 years? I'm kind of like, I want to build a healthy, well-rounded future.

Michael Gervais (3:24)

I want to invite you to listen for his deeper framework and how he has this rare honesty to get right down into the truth.

Alex Honnold (3:31)

Now I'm starting to think about it a little bit more because my three-year-old might remember me if I die at this point, maybe.

Michael Gervais (3:36)

So with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with perhaps the most significant mind in all of sport, the one and only Alex Honnold.

Alex, when it comes to the folks that I think are the most significant in the world of athletics, you sit tall on the mountaintop here. And so I love the way you've designed your life, what you've done and how you carry yourself. So I'm stoked to sit with you, because I think the way that you've done what you've done is really special and you have a lot to teach us. So thank you for coming in.