Top 37 Quotes & Sayings by Chris Sharma

Keep it fun. Don't take it too seriously. At the same time, when you do feel inspired, take it seriously, too.

Climbing is a process - like yoga or running. We want to go to the spots where we're barely able to hold on. Those are the climbs that force us to become better athletes and grow as climbers.

With climbing you can go to the most beautiful places on the planet and practice. Anywhere there is rock, you can climb.

Climbing is an amazing, unique sport, and I want to share that with as many people as possible. I want to be an ambassador for the sport and raise the profile. I try to take advantage of any opportunity to share climbing with the world.

I have done a fair bit of meditation practice, but I think through climbing it's definitely an easier way for me to tap into that mental state of being present and in the moment, very in tune with your body. But not in an intellectual way. Just really responding to the moment, where you don't have time to think.

Climbing is an artistic, creative thing; it's about being spontaneous, traveling, seeing the world, hanging out. It's a balance of setting goals while enjoying the process, being ambitious without being too competitive.

I really learned to approach climbing not just with a pure athletic mentality, but also to appreciate all these beautiful places we get to go to.

The strongest climbers aren’t always the happiest or nicest to be around; neither are some of them coming from the purest motivation. Climbing another V17 is not going to save the world! This activity of 'rock climbing' is merely one of many ways to exist, pass the time, and evolve and grow from one moment to the next. That’s all.

Climbing is so fun and such a good experience, that I think it's important not to take it too seriously. It's not the end of the world - or the entire world either.

One of the things that separates climbing from other sports is how independent and personal it is. With most sports, you either win or lose, but climbing is about your own personal experience.

There's so many things to explore in life, and if you don't have that inspiration or motivation to do it, then don't force yourself. Take that time to do whatever else you need to do. That inspiration or motivation will always come back and when it does, it's always stronger.

That's what's so amazing about climbing - it's not just a sport. It's a lifestyle, it's a way of being creative, of connecting with yourself and with nature.

They kind of go hand-in-hand. Following your motivation, resting when you need to rest, and going for it when you feel inspired.

I'm a rock climber. I really specialize in doing first ascents, and finding new routes outside, as opposed to doing competitions. I focus my energy on going out into nature and finding these new climbs. For me, it's not just this athletic pursuit - it's a really creative, artistic thing of finding these amazing formations out in nature, and mixing that with this high level of athleticism.

Climbing is my lifelong journey. And in the same way you go running and you have days where you really feel in tune, you have some days where you don't feel that good. It's this never-ending process. Accepting that and enjoying that for what it is, that's really where the life of climbing is.

We search out the most perfect pieces of rock. It's so amazing that these formations are so perfect for climbing on. It's almost as if they were created for climbing. You're taking these random rock formations and you're bringing to it this interaction. It transforms it from being this random rock into almost this piece of art. It's almost like a sculpture or something. Just by finding the handholds, finding that line up the rock. Every climb is different, has its own unique set of movements and body positions. Climbing and my appreciation for nature are totally intertwined.

Climbing is this lifestyle activity that really works every muscle in your body.

I've been climbing for almost twenty years now. I'm more inspired and more motivated. I feel stronger than I ever have. I feel like that's worked up until now.

When I was 17, I blew out my knee bouldering, and I wasn't able to climb for a year. It was hard for me to have to stay away from what I love and what makes me happy. But it was a wake-up call to take care of my body and not be too reckless.

I would like to be myself in life - my real self. My ego, though, is powerful and not necessarily working in my best interest all the time. Even when climbing I can't escape the clutches of my ego. The reason why I started climbing was because I could be free from myself.

Every climb is different, has its own unique set of movements and body positions. Climbing and my appreciation for nature are totally intertwined.

I think I'm a pretty creative person. I love building things. I love working on my house. Landscaping, stuff like that.

Climbing is a full-body sport from your fingers to your toes, but at the same time, it's like a dance on the rock. It's about being strong and fit but also graceful and elegant and efficient on the rock.

I had a bad knee injury when I was about seventeen. I wasn't able to climb for about six months. It was kind of like a transformative time for me, because it was really hard for me not to be able to climb. It forced me to appreciate things without just climbing.

The best climbers have the will to hold on. They won't give up and keep trying over and over.

I'm going to be climbing for my whole life.

Most injuries happen when you're not motivated, too, and you're forcing yourself to do something. Your mind's not aligned with your body and you're just going through the motions. That's when you're most likely to get injured.

In climbing, a fundamental thing is to want to do something you've never done before. That's the beauty of climbing, whether you're a girl or boy, seasoned veteran or beginner. You're not sure you'll be able to do this, but you try, and discovering you are capable is an amazing experience and an amazing feeling.

I love finding something. For me it's not just about the athletic challenge, it's about finding new things. When I'm not doing that in climbing, it manifests itself in other ways. There's the athletic side of it, but it is very much an artistic thing.

The rock still has something to teach me.

There's a balance. Time and place for everything.

When you do hard routes, you have to try hard. They're not easy routes. You have to give everything you have. You have to get totally animalistic. When you're super pumped, I have to yell to bear down. [...] It's like martial arts. When Bruce lee threw a punch, he had to mean it. Haahhh! Like that. When you're doing a hard move, there is this excess energy you have to let out. Air explodes out of you.

As climbers, we need to learn to be good stewards of the land and take care of these places where we are spending so much time.

Climbing is this long term, lifelong journey. It's really important to just take your time with it and keep it fun. I've seen a lot of people burn out because it starts becoming this job for them. It stops being fun. For me, it's been really important to keep it enjoyable. Listen to your motivation.

There are strong people who aren't able to climb. It's about reading the rock, knowing how to position your body and having the tenacity to not let go.

In particular, with climbing, we're climbing on these surfaces that Mother Nature has created. We search out the most perfect pieces of rock. It's so amazing that these formations are so perfect for climbing on. It's almost as if they were created for climbing.

For me now, I feel that climbing is a part of who I am. It's my way of life. It's my way of expressing myself. My way of being in the world. In the past, I questioned it a lot. Now it's obvious. This is who I am. This is what I do.