Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In climbing and mountaineering there’s a term called “exposure”. It means that sections of a path or route are exposed – there is a high risk of injury if you fall. There is not a shelf or a net below you.
When we talk about the idea of “Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be” we’re talking about commitment. We’re talking about the idea of taking something that you value, that can be harmed, your ass (i.e. your art, the novel you’ve worked on for three years) and putting yourself in a place where’s there’s risk. Where you are exposed.
Your ego is exposed. Your work is exposed. There is a risk of injury. The thing is, if you don’t put yourself into that exposed place you’ll never make it to the summit. I am not a mountain climber, but from what I have seen and read, there is no route to the top of Everest without risk.
At some point we have to be able to go beyond the safety of a rock shelf, or a rope that tethers us safely to the shore. We don’t want to do this because of fear. None of us wants to fall, but if we’re going to put our ass where our heart wants to be, if we’re committed to it, it involves risk and we’re all going to have to face it at some point.
In climbing and mountaineering there’s a term called “exposure”. It means that sections of a path or route are exposed – there is a high risk of injury if you fall. There is not a shelf or a net below you.
When we talk about the idea of “Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be” we’re talking about commitment. We’re talking about the idea of taking something that you value, that can be harmed, your ass (i.e. your art, the novel you’ve worked on for three years) and putting yourself in a place where’s there’s risk. Where you are exposed.
Your ego is exposed. Your work is exposed. There is a risk of injury. The thing is, if you don’t put yourself into that exposed place you’ll never make it to the summit. I am not a mountain climber, but from what I have seen and read, there is no route to the top of Everest without risk.
At some point we have to be able to go beyond the safety of a rock shelf, or a rope that tethers us safely to the shore. We don’t want to do this because of fear. None of us wants to fall, but if we’re going to put our ass where our heart wants to be, if we’re committed to it, it involves risk and we’re all going to have to face it at some point.
