It was a balmy Saturday morning. Typical northern Thailand weather. At around 9:00 A.M. I met up with my climbing assistant at the base of the mountain, suited up, and together we walked a few yards towards the jagged rock wall.

My coach stayed on the ground, holding a rope attached to me. As I went up, he shouted instructions and tips. The climb wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t hard either. I was in the beginner section, so while struggling a bit, I climbed the wall sections all the way to the top relatively quickly.

“I can see you are a sports-man”, my trainer said in his thick Czechoslovakian accent. I appreciated the compliment. It gave me more confidence for the tougher walls ahead.

As I climbed the next wall, I encountered my first problem. I was stuck under a ledge that I just couldn’t get over. As I gripped the top of the ledge and wedged my feet in a crack to keep myself from falling, I could feel my strength sapping away from me. Hyper-extending my entire body, making myself tired.

Still on the ground, my coached yelled tips at me. I tried to follow his advice, but it was like my mind was so focused on staying onto the ledge that I couldn’t even think about anything else. Finally, I let go. The coach lowered me down.

I gave up.

But there was nothing wrong with that.

That day I learned that sometimes it’s ok to let your goals go for a while. Climbing that wall and failing taught me that it’s ok to come back later and try again after you become stronger and smarter.

If you’re stuck on a hard assignment, stop. Take a break. Try again later.

If you don’t feel like writing an essay (and it’s not due in five yours), stop. Take a break. Try again later.

After a bit of a rest, I told the coach that I wanted to go back and try again. I was rested up, hydrated, and ready to go.

when I got to the under-hang again, I surpassed it. My muscles were re-energized. I wasn’t sweating as much, so it wasn’t getting into my eyes like last time. My hands weren’t as wet with arm sweat as they were before, and the limited time I spent on the wall gave me experience.

I stretched my legs to a spot I didn’t see before. I used that spot to make it over.

The rest of the climb was a piece of cake.

In closing, it’s ok to stop once in a while, just don’t forget to keep going. Always, always, always try again.