Losing passion, need some help

Hello all, could really use some advice/help, and potentially some highly motivated weekend warrior professionals/climbers to reach out for some weekend climbs.

I used to visit this site regularly when I was living just north of the Gunks, and climbing in the ADK/Gunks *at least* twice a week, surrounded by the climbing community and spending summers between Miguel's and some boulders at the base of chapel pond slabs.  Was climbing .11's in the Red, and just breaking into the 5.10 range (no ticks in that grade because hadn't lead one clean yet).  Climbing was my life/passion, and had taken some amazing trips to Patagonia to do trad at Frey and sport at Piedra Parada.

Fast forward to now, I'm attending medical school in Des Moines IA which has been a *huge* time/energy drain, and joined the Army with a contract that commits me to training over most of the summer.  Really struggling to find my love for this sport/lifestyle again, and just got back from Squamish and was just kinda bummed out to be pulling through this *amazing* granite but not feeling any of that elation that I used to being on the rock.  

Most of my partners from that previous life now have jobs/kids/wives and it's hard to get anyone out for the weekends that I have free... which *sucks* because that's all I've got these days.  Miss having people to push myself on cool objectives with.

Really scared that this critical part of my identity/life is slipping away, and was hoping to get some advice from anyone who has some to give, especially those who have chased intense professional goals and made it work to keep climbing in their lives.  

Thanks in advance, recognize that this is a somewhat open-ended question/concern
-Matt

I would try joining a climbing meet up and really expand your circle.   Find a coming partner or two you can also be friends with.
Subscribe to the climbing videos, like Mani the monkey to help keep the motivation in the downtime

This post violated Guideline #1 and has been removed.

Sometimes we change, or our situations change, such that we don't enjoy the things we used to enjoy. It's not a bad thing. You can fight it and try to get joy from the same things you used to enjoy, or you can find something else to enjoy. And you can always come back to climbing after a break.

There is more to life than climbing.

Take it as;  You have made the bed, now pull up the covers.  
Matt, hi again, You & I have never seen eye to eye,( don't remember? what,it was).
 You have a charmed existence & still you ask these un-answerable sorts of obvious questions, questions that only you can find answers to.
Your answers will not be what others tell you or suggest here.
 You Know This, they will be answers for the questions that those people had & may have found answers to, those answers wont fit you.

 Life has ebs & flows.
 Growth happens all the time. Not every activity needs to pose life* & death decisions. Growing does not always lead to maturing.

That you may need to search for more meaning in life than being a good YoYo, is not a bad thing

Focus on the choices you have made. Stay fit The rocks & mountains will be there for you. Their way, The Wild way is better when your adventures mean more & are better funded
Stay in school, take a break from climbing Expand your mind into another art form,

Doing residencies put climbing on hold for me for quite some time again too, and I lost the focus I had on it.  

y prediction is that it will come back, but when you have time to enjoy it.  
For now, focus on what you are doing.  Get good at medicine and enjoy learning that.

Climbing is not all there is to life, and that is why it is good not to build everything around it like job, relationship, and where you live.  Things change.
 
Now is the time to position your career.  If you are learning and loving your career now, turn on the gas for that.  Climbing rocks will still be around in a few years.

I may be a jerk by calling out the whiners but I've been thanked for slapping the shit out of my friends.

Seriously Matt, there's lots of places to climb around you, go there, partner or not. Gumption separates men from boys.

Dude, life gets in the way of a lot of things. The rock will still be there when you finish med school. Being in Iowa sucks enough without having to worry about the life you could be leading.

I was in the Army 7th SFGA(cold war), and I found that I always had time to slip away and do some amazing exploration. Maybe not climbing, but I found some cool waterfalls in Honduras, interesting flora and fauna in Panama, nice girls on Roatan  , some of the best skydiving in the world in Ecuador etc....  Sure, I also saw some horrific shit that I still see in my nightmares, but you have to balance that against the good stuff. Go to the 3rd world for a while to get some perspective on what life COULD be like.

Just stay in good enough shape to grab a rope when the opportunity arises, and partners present themselves, and you'll be golden.

I like to focus on gratitude toward climbing as well as the things that might keep me from climbing (kids, house, family, work). I’m thankful for when I can get out and thankful to have a house with an awesome family. Climbing definitely motivates me to stay fit. Like anything else, you can climb your whole life as long as you have a healthy relationship with it.
Just think, play your cards right and one day you can be one of these doctors humble bragging about working 8 months a year and climbing/traveling the other 4. But if you’re not even stoked to walk through the woods at the base of the chief, that’s gonna take so soul searching to solve that one. 

Solo a bigwall

Things have a way of eb and flow. I climbed obsessively for about 10 years, and then got into bike racing for another 10 or so. During the time I rode, I'd get out to climb maybe twice a year, mostly to get a break from the bike. I also spent a year during this period over seas where I didn't get out once...at all. Then, in 2010, I did a cycling camp in Mallorca, but spent most of my time climbing. Have been doing about 200 days a year on the rock/plastic since, and I cycle just for recreation. 

You could be burned out - but not from climbing, from all of the other stuff in your life. The good news is you remember having good times when you used to climb in the past.

Buck Rio wrote: Dude, life gets in the way of a lot of things. The rock will still be there when you finish med school. Being in Iowa sucks enough without having to worry about the life you could be leading.

I was in the Army 7th SFGA(cold war), and I found that I always had time to slip away and do some amazing exploration. Maybe not climbing, but I found some cool waterfalls in Honduras, interesting flora and fauna in Panama, nice girls on Roatan  , some of the best skydiving in the world in Ecuador etc....  Sure, I also saw some horrific shit that I still see in my nightmares, but you have to balance that against the good stuff. Go to the 3rd world for a while to get some perspective on what life COULD be like.

Just stay in good enough shape to grab a rope when the opportunity arises, and partners present themselves, and you'll be golden.

How is skydiving in one place better than another place?

Tradiban wrote:

How is skydiving in one place better than another place?

Skydiving over a big cactus field might not be so good.

the schmuck wrote: Things have a way of eb and flow. 

This. Suburban Roadside also said this, although both posters spelled "ebb" wrong, haha. Otherwise I agree with the sentiment! 

Trying to force passion and motivation doesn't usually work. Priorities take turns in life, whether you're ready or not. Reflect on what other directions you can more readily feel passion in life at the moment (including your immediate timesuck). Keep your gear. Climbing will probably come back to you at some point when your mind and time endorse it. All this sounds like trope, but looking at it from the other side eventually will reveal its truth. Your profile indicates you are young; it's tough to accept and endorse a temporary shift in life, even when there are no negative connotations with that shift.  

Medic741 wrote: Hello all, could really use some advice/help, and potentially some highly motivated weekend warrior professionals/climbers to reach out for some weekend climbs.

I used to visit this site regularly when I was living just north of the Gunks, and climbing in the ADK/Gunks *at least* twice a week, surrounded by the climbing community and spending summers between Miguel's and some boulders at the base of chapel pond slabs.  Was climbing .11's in the Red, and just breaking into the 5.10 range (no ticks in that grade because hadn't lead one clean yet).  Climbing was my life/passion, and had taken some amazing trips to Patagonia to do trad at Frey and sport at Piedra Parada.

Fast forward to now, I'm attending medical school in Des Moines IA which has been a *huge* time/energy drain, and joined the Army with a contract that commits me to training over most of the summer.  Really struggling to find my love for this sport/lifestyle again, and just got back from Squamish and was just kinda bummed out to be pulling through this *amazing* granite but not feeling any of that elation that I used to being on the rock.  

Most of my partners from that previous life now have jobs/kids/wives and it's hard to get anyone out for the weekends that I have free... which *sucks* because that's all I've got these days.  Miss having people to push myself on cool objectives with.

Really scared that this critical part of my identity/life is slipping away, and was hoping to get some advice from anyone who has some to give, especially those who have chased intense professional goals and made it work to keep climbing in their lives.  

Thanks in advance, recognize that this is a somewhat open-ended question/concern
-Matt

If you're not having fun, take a break, try something else. You might come back to it in a couple of years, or you might not...

I grew up in des moines. Its pretty bleak but there IS ok limestone sport climbing within an hour or two, and tons of options within 5-6 hours. I generally hate the setting at climb iowa but theres that too, and would be a great place to find some partners for adventure. You just gotta push yourself, and if youre not digging it theres plenty of other hobbies

There are lots of climbers out there that have dropped out of the climbing scene for a few years (or decades) due to career, family, location, or just losing interest. Some never return to climbing, but some do. And when they do return, it is because they are genuinely psyched to do it, not just because they feel like they should. Take a break, finish out the medical education, then come back to it when you have more time. Just try not to settle in Iowa permanently. Or get fat.

Why do you want to like something you don’t like?

Buck Rio wrote: Dude, life gets in the way of a lot of things....

i remember one time i was whining about work screwing up my training and climbing, and my friend mark (monomaniac) related a quote from some movie, maybe the rock(?).  i can't remember the quote, but i will paraphrase.  "losers have excuses, winners go home with the prom queen."

i thought this was a good point.  the people that i know who operate on another level all have one thing in common - they don't let anything stand it their way.  when people tell them you can't have 2 kids while you are doing your neurosurgery residence, they prove them wrong.  you can't be the CEO of a 1000 person engineering firm and still ski 50 days a year, they prove them wrong.  etc.
basically, HTFU.