One thing that held me back when climbing first presented itself to me was my would-be climbing partner. The guy introducing me to rock climbing was my boyfriend at the time. The idea of him teaching me everything from square one was just such a deterrent for me. There are certain skills and hobbies that are just better taught by someone other than your significant other...and in my humble opinion, climbing was one of them.
My first climbing partner turned out to be Alan - a stereotypical dirtbag in the same major as me. Alan was the perfect person for the job. We started at the same level, learned together, progressed together, pushed each other with the correct balance of inside-joke insults and sincere encouragement, and always knew the exact amount of slack or tension the other needed.
Finding the right climbing partner, (and subsequently, climbing crew) makes or breaks the the rock climbing experience. Once I felt broken in, I had no problem climbing with my boyfriend, but no one was a better partner than Alan. We live in different parts of the country now, and it's been years since climbing together, but to this day, there's no one I would trust more to belay me. More than that, I could have then, and I would still trust him with my literal life.
Had I not found such a strong partner to push me, I never would have become the climber I am today. I never would have fallen in love with rock climbing. Finding the right climbing partner is everything.
How did you find your climbing partner??