How to push yourself on an onsight

Jason Halladay wrote: What kind of partner(s) do you climb with? For me I've gained considerable insight and inspiration from climbing with partners that are experienced and know when to go for it and when not to. My hardest, proudest trad leads have been with experienced, supportive partners that I trust when they say, "I know you can do this pitch" and "you're in a great spot to go for it." 

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Best thing I did for my trad climbing and lead head was projecting hard (for me) sport, and falling a lot. Here's my arguments:

1. If the gear is good and the fall is clean, there's no reason not to go for it. Lots of sport falls will give you a really good idea of exactly what's going to happen if you pitch off, and will help you stay calm and objective. I see so much irrational fear of falling. Sport climbing is actually really good for this.

2. Being able to read the rock and know what's coming is huge. Place good gear at the best stance, try to spot your next good gear/stance, then pull the hard moves and just focus on climbing till you get there. Repeat till you're at the top. Sport climbing will make you so much better at reading the beta, and teach you how to pull through sections where you can't stop to place gear.

Your mind is trying to protect you from a possible injury. Use common sense and learn how to push through what’s likely keeping you from being a more capable leader. There is always a time for pushing through and another for steping back

Also, lots of climbers out there could benefit from training the mind as much as they train technique and strenght. 

Try to make being above your gear natural and spend any time in that state very consciously. What I mean by that:

• When above your gear in an easy section (or good rest), remind yourself/be aware that you're above your gear. Space out placements more. Don't just cruise through the easier sections - take the time to practice jams & locks, even if face holds are available. See how you feel on a finger lock above gear. Realize it's doesn't have to be an alarming prospect, and might even be pretty stable.
• If you get to a rest, don't rush to put a piece in, even if you eventually will. Shake out. Grab some chalk. Take the time to analyse what's above. Would it be better to draw from the left or right to keep your rack balanced? If you can choose, should you try to get ride of a particular size, or save some. Then place some gear. Teach yourself that chilling out above gear is perfectly normal.

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The thing about committing to sequences onsight & on gear though is that you should also be prepared to back down, if need be. Sometimes the smart thing to do is to let go. I recommend you set yourself some sort of philosophy/code. Mine is that I can keep going as long as I would be OK taking the fall. If I can't say I would, then I should either take it right then or down climb or find a piece now. Sometimes the answer is " I won't fall here". That's good as well. But I can see myself falling in this section and I'm not comfortable with the fall I would be taking (shitty gear/too high / ledge) and yet I keep going, I'm making a bad call, at least in my book.

Because you don't know what's coming - maybe the next good gear IS pretty far. Maybe you don't have the right piece for the next placement. Maybe the next placement is tricky and you're unlikely to find it. Maybe it's doesn't feel hard for others, but will for you (finger/hand sizes etc.). That's the tricky bit about onsight/flash.

EDIT:

I've recently decided to finish most of my gym climb with a fall, instead of clipping the anchor/top draw. The point for me is that falling (e.g. the fall itself, or its prospect) should be an integral part of climbing. I want to be able, as much as possible, to make the judgment about my climb without it being partly about the uneasy feeling one gets when accelerating downward at 9.8 m/s^2.

For me it depends on how good my last gear placement is, if I'm likely to fall on a ledge and how pumped I feel. The other day while attempting an onsight, I was placing gear in an overhanging stance at a crux, wasn't able to clip and took a 15-20' fall. I hit a ledge and nearly broke my hand- it easily could have been much worse. I've taken several huge falls on gear and it's scary every time. I wouldn't recommend it. Usually I down climb if I'm feeling pumped, scared and climbing above gear. Going forward I'm going to be more conservative. I'd rather not onsight and feel weak for 5 minutes, than possibly get myself killed. The only time I wouldn't mind falling on trad is if I'm climbing an overhang with nothing but air under me and I'm certain my last piece of gear is bomber. The only time I don't trust gear is if I know I made a shitty placement, but it seemed better than nothing. Usually it's pretty obvious to me if a placement is sketchy. Falling is all fun and games until you break something and end up in the hospital.