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as you read further. If these words have struck a chord within you, you have already embarked on the process of Becoming Conscious.
    The Witness
    As with all the Rock Warrior processes, the key step in Becoming Conscious is to focus attention. In this case, you focus attention on your inner self, on the flow of your own thoughts. Sit back for a minute and let your mind wander. You may be thinking of a hard climb you haven’t been able to redpoint, which is what led you to pick up this book. Soon your thoughts drift off to what you’d like to have for lunch. Maybe the image of a person pops into your head, or a random memory of something that happened last week. There seems to be no logic or order to these thoughts. They simply pass through your head like a movie, apparently out of your control. The point is not how these thoughts come about or what they might mean. Rather, you can stand back and watch them. They are not you. When you “stand back” like this you have done something important; you have located the Witness position.
    By identifying the Witness position and going there, you separate yourself from the complex goings-on within your conscious mind that affect your life and climbing performance. This separation allows you the objectivity necessary to analyze and change habitual or unconscious ways of being. It also provides the sense of autonomy necessary to examine issues that threaten your Ego, such as, how you develop your self-image and assign your self-worth. Knowing there is an inner you independent of any beliefs or thoughts gives you the power to change.
    As the Witness position creates a place for you to conduct your observations, it also effects the thoughts and feelings you’re observing. By itself, it will not reverse self-limiting thoughts, but it does help these thoughts be less overwhelming. In 1985 I was going through a divorce and was overwhelmed with feelings of negativity. One winter night during this time I was driving with my mother through the country. A full moon reflected off sparkling snow that had just fallen. As we were driving, I was feeling bitter, angry, and resentful. All of my attention was focused on these negative states. My mother noticed my state and asked why I had to be so sad and angry. “You don’t even see the beauty of this winter evening,” she said. She was right, and her comment stirred the Witness in me. I noticed my sour attitude, the beauty of the evening, and my resistance to letting go of the unpleasant mood in which I was immersed. Even though I wasn’t able to let go of my negative thinking, I noticed it and knew that I wanted to let it go. My awareness was piqued, and it was the beginning of the transformation of my attitude.
    Performance, Self-Image, and Self-Worth
    Self-worth is how valuable we feel. Self-image is our sense of who we are and what we can do. Self-image directly affects how we perform. Regardless of our actual level of fitness, if we feel strong, agile, and adventurous, then we climb better than if we feel weak, clumsy, and meek. Climbing hard—and “hard” is always relative—involves making moves that feel improbable, and continuing when the situation seems nearly hopeless. If you have a low opinion of yourself, you will have difficulty imagining yourself doing the unlikely things necessary to make it through your climb. If you can’t imagine yourself doing these things, you won’t do them. You absolutely must have an image of yourself as one who is capable of pulling it off. All the training in the world will have minimal benefit to you if you don’t give yourself room to believe .
    Unfortunately, you can’t simply improve your self-image on a whim. You need to uncover the roots of your self-image and value system and reshape the hidden structure holding you back. Fortunately, this detective work doesn’t require an advance degree in psychology. The typical person’s self-image suffers partly from its attachment to past