The Psychology of Succeeding When the Odds Are Against You - w/ Olympic Climber Kyra Condie
episode
Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement
22 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Are we quitting too early when we have excuses not to chase our dreams?
We all have excuses for not chasing our dreams. As life goes by day by day, we only get more excuses. Not enough time, money, mortgages, kids. There's always another thing to hold us back. Yet we do find the time to watch Netflix, we find the money to buy a new phone. So there is something wrong with us. Today I have Kyra Condi on the show. She is a professional climber in the United States and part of their Olympic team. Besides overcoming just all the normal barriers to becoming an Olympic athlete, she also has a fused spine due to scoliosis, so three quarters of her spine doesn't move. Now, in climbing, a bendy spine is generally considered one of the essentials to climb well. But with the right mindset, it's amazing what you can accomplish.
So what Kyra has done is amazing, and if something as dramatic as a fused spine, Isn't actually a barrier to achieving your dreams. I think we can all take a look at ourselves and push a little bit harder. So I was delighted to talk to Kyra and find out a little bit more about her psychology, how she thinks about barriers in her life, and how to motivate yourself against the odds. Kyra is truly an epic lady doing some really interesting things, and it was a delight to have her on the podcast, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy the interview. And we start the episode with Kyra's story of how she got into climbing in the first place.
My name is Kyra Kondi. I grew up in Minnesota. Uh definitely super athletic. It was really competitive. Nothing was really sticking as like my favorite sport. Like team sports weren't really my thing because as soon as a coach told me that I had to sit out, I was not like And then gymnastics was not my thing because I was not nearly graceful enough. And then I found the climbing gym at a birthday party in about like fifth or sixth grade.
How does living with scoliosis change the way Kyra climbs at an Olympic level?
Before that I was climbing trees in our kitchen. So going to the climbing gym, I was like, wow, you're supposed to climb these holes? That's sick. And joined the climbing team. I was actually really in a musical theater too at the time, so then I quit the climbing team and Started doing some musical theater instead and then realized that I missed climbing. And so I went back to that. Ever since then I've never stopped. So I was about 12 at that time, kind of got immediately thrown into competition climbing. Then next year I qualified for nationals, and then right after that, I got diagnosed with scoliosis. So that's when I found out I needed to get a severe spinal fusion surgery. Got that when I was, I think, 13.
It was 2010. Recovered from that, and then I didn't win nationals until after that. Actually for the first time and then competed on the World Cup circuit once I turned old enough, but I could only go to one a year really because of school. Then eventually I started doing well at the World Cups, kind of became part of the Olympics. I realized that's what I wanted to focus on. I graduated from university, qualified for the Olympics, went to Tokyo, moved to Salt Lake City. Not in that order.
Cool. You make it all sound so easy. Amazing. Insane. When you said as a child you were into different sports. Would you say that there's anything within you that you even thought that a sport might be a major thing, or was it like, I wonder what things I'm good at intellectually that I might go into as a job in the future?
I've always wanted to be a veterinarian as well. The intellectual route that I've always seen myself going. And I was definitely like total hood in Middle school and high school, so. But wasn't for necessarily the jock type, not like the cool athletic kid.
And now I look at you. So when you describe yourself as a nerd, what are the attributes that would you say make you nerdy exactly?
Let's see. I mean I was definitely in like high performance HP classes and I put you in the nerd group right away. And so all your friends are like the super smart kids. And yeah, all my friends now are like crazy engineers and medical students and stuff like that. They're all awesome. They're super smart.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Are we quitting too early when we have excuses not to chase our dreams?
0:01–1:54
2
How does living with scoliosis change the way Kyra climbs at an Olympic level?
1:54–4:31
3
What mental‑health challenges do elite climbers face after serious injuries?
4:31–9:27
4
How does Kyra cope with the emotional roller‑coaster of injury and recovery?
9:27–13:31
5
What strategies does Kyra use to prevent new injuries while training for competition?
13:31–16:24
6
What advice does Kyra give her younger self about confidence and self‑belief?
16:24–18:30
7
How does Kyra bounce back on a really bad day and stay motivated?
18:30–21:06
8
What legacy does Kyra want to leave for future athletes facing physical limits?
21:06–22:24
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement
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Psychology of Mental Strength: 3 Habits to build resilience, Inner toughness & Growth Mindset
A Growth Mindset Alone Won’t Make You a Better Leader: The psychology principles that will /wRyan Gottfredson
Master Finishing Things - Psychology vs Productivity, Perfectionism & Creative Constipation