The best is the one with the biggest smile

One of my closest friends and used to (and still do) go bouldering together. And we would have the best time every single sesson. We would ge into the gym and act like intoxicated children, jumping between the mats, doing every outrageous dyno we could find and occasionally climbing a legitimate route between backflips and other antics.

These sessions never seemed to be about the climbing, they were about having as much fun as possible.

Pretty tough to draw non-creepy smiles

Sometimes we would end up speaking to another climber getting lost in the sauce. Screaming at their project, getting annoyed at themselves for not succeeding and not having much fun. My friend would inevitably end up saying:

'the best climber is the one with the biggest smile'.

I find this mentality lovely, and it totally changed my approach to activities.

Often we don't start a hobby to be the best. To be pressured or stressed out. We start because we find it fun. It's enjoyable and we gain something positive from it.

It's so easy to lose this initial grasp and get lost in achievements and progress. This happens to me all the time in my various hobbies. I get caught up and frustrated with climbing or parkour or kendama because I don't reach an expectation I have of myself, and end up leaving the session frustrated rather than satisfied.

Applying, and remaining aware of the idea that the best climber is the one with the biggest smile, or the one having the most fun.

Focusing on enjoying the movements rather than quantifying my success with how difficult something was has made everything more fun. I worry less about my results and how other people might think of something, and instead focus on feeling and presence.

Lots of things are fun. Doing backflips, drawing, climbing, endless activities are amazing sources of enjoyment. But it's so easy to forget this. Sometimes it's even important to forget this for a little while, or allow yourself to get stuck in something difficult and emotional. But coming back to the fun always makes things seem better for me!

Not unhappy. Also not the biggest smile

As a bonus, I notice that I progress much faster when I'm focused on feeling or enjoyment. It becomes about the journey, not the destination. And suddenly I realise after having fun for whatever period of time that I've made huge leaps in progress.

That's pretty cool.

Have fun :)