Aug. 20, 2025

Neely Quinn: How to Deal with Perfectionism and our Inner Critic as Climbers (and Humans)

Neely Quinn: How to Deal with Perfectionism and our Inner Critic as Climbers (and Humans)
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Neely Quinn: How to Deal with Perfectionism and our Inner Critic as Climbers (and Humans)

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Mindset coach Neely Quinn explores:

  • Pros and cons of being a perfectionist as a climber 
  • How to embrace perfectionism (and keep it from ruining our climbing experience)
  • How to quantify the amount of "suffering" we are willing to go through to improve as climbers
  • Examining my "failed" spring season 
  • Why it's important to celebrate the little things
  • The three questions to ask oneself after every climbing session
  • Is too much humility doing us a disservice?
  • Why we fixate on the one thing that went wrong 
  • Determining whether climbing is a fun outlet or a source of stress
  • Process over progress and what that really looks like
  • Why we often send when we least expect to
  • A practical drill for overcoming fear of falling 

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Shoutout to Matt Waltereese for being a Victory Whip supporter on Patreon! So mega.

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Here are some AI generated show notes (hopefully the robots got it right):

00:41 Guest Introduction: Neely Quinn from Training Beta 01:13 The Perfectionism Email and Personal Struggles 02:17 Community Questions and Performance Hacks 05:01 Host's Climbing Journey and Reflections 05:59 Diving into Perfectionism with Neely Quinn 21:37 Exploring the Roots of Perfectionism 29:00 Tools and Strategies for Overcoming Perfectionism 39:47 Validating Emotions and Positive Reflection 43:40 Balancing Pride and Shame in Climbing 44:54 The Evolutionary Basis of Negative Bias 45:41 Reflecting on Gratitude and Success 47:06 The Inner Coach: Self-Talk and Motivation 48:54 Therapy and Climbing: A Surprising Connection 49:40 Dealing with Regression in Climbing Performance 52:58 Setting Realistic Expectations and Goals 57:04 Embracing Process Over Outcome 59:27 Practical Process Goals for Climbers 01:04:46 Overcoming Fear and Building Confidence 01:13:10 Final Thoughts and Listener Questions 01:18:37 Conclusion and Bonus Content

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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and YouTube /@thestruggleclimbingshow

 

Book a session with Neely: https://www.neelyquinncoaching.com/climbing

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The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.

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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin, and edited by Glen Walker. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.

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The struggle makes us stronger! I hope your training and climbing are going great. 

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And now here are some buzzwords to help the almighty algorithm get this show in front of people who love to climb: rock climbing, rock climber, climbing, climber, bouldering, sport climbing, gym climbing, how to rock climb, donuts are amazing. Okay, whew, that’s done. But hey, if you’re a human that’s actually reading this, and if you love this show (and love to climb) would you think about sharing this episode with a climber friend of yours? And shout it out on your socials? I’ll send you a sticker for doing it. Just shoot me a message on IG – thanks so much!