Why We Must Descend Before We Ascend

Recently, I have spent a considerable amount of time contemplating why it seems that individuals and organizations must encounter great difficulty before achieving relative greatness. There is no escaping it. The countless stories written are the undeniable evidence of this. In my study, every worthwhile and exemplary success story inexplicably contained details about exhaustive effort, passion, and adversity that were experienced before making a break through. While many quotes have swirled around in my mind about this subject, one seemed to resonate with me the most. Dr. Stephen Covey said:

“Private victories precede public victories. You can’t invert that process any more than you can harvest a crop before you plant it”

I read between the lines. It powerfully reminded me that there is obviously a universal law and process that governs true success and progress in any degree. Life (and all its opportunities) is represented by ladders that are offered to each one of us to use as tools to help us improve and progress in an organized manner. Like a ladder, stepping upward (progress) requires greater effort than the step we were previously standing on. That progress is typically painful, time consuming, and uncomfortable.

As we ascend, there is a sense of joy and accomplishment. This rush comes because we know how far we have journeyed and the struggle to get there. We gained experience and had matured in some degree. Sometimes we actually might jump from stair 3 to stair 6. Obviously in those cases the triumph (and pain to achieve that) are greater. Sometimes we fall from stair 3 to stair 1. But interestingly enough those who have first descended, then ascended are more appreciative and knowledgeable. Why? They remembered the struggle more apparently.

If there were no opposition to our progress, there would be no triumph. If we had never descended (or experienced a lower stair) before ascending, we wouldn’t know the difference between the two. The law that governs this progress isn’t biased. It tutors everyone. It will not permit success for those who didn’t pay their dues in the lower stages first. There are no shortcuts to true success, I believe we all intrinsically know that.. We must have these growth experiences along the way as we ascend. And that is precisely why all who are "successful" have “a story” to tell. We all love hearing those stories don’t we? They give us hope as we are trying to ascend up our own ladders large or small.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said:

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”

We all have choices to make every day, choices that are ours alone to make. These choices dictate the pace and direction of our personal ascent or descent. The law of success exacts upon all of us the necessity to experience the difficult before we taste the sublime. Endurance is paramount. Experience and perspective (obtained by worthwhile dedication) is the elixir that furnishes exhilaration, confidence, and motivation to keep us on the rewarding path of ascension. This principle holds true in the workplace, in our personal development, and anything in life. 

About the Author – Chad Gundry has spent several years in sales and marketing positions and has accumulated extensive insight that can assist in constructing transformational business strategies and living life more productively. He is not a “writer”, but enjoys sharing his views on a variety of subjects. Views posted here are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Rakuten Marketing.