Mindset Skill #2: The Descent

The reason the elderly climb mountains is not to reach the summit. For them, what matters most is the way down. It is in the descent that they encounter the scenery, acceptance, and appreciation. At the end of life, will we walk down the slope filled with regret and despair, or with gratitude and appreciation?

I am afraid of mountains. To be more precise, I fear the descent. Because the way down is not just the end of the climb—it mirrors my own fear of not reaching the summit.

I was once a professional gamer. But I never reached the very top. Like climbing a mountain, I devoted myself endlessly, yet I descended without ever standing at the peak. What remained was not triumph, but emptiness and regret. That experience made mountains fearful to me. Climbing meant confronting, once again, the summit I had failed to reach.

But I have started climbing again. This time, not only for the summit. Even if I don’t reach the peak, I want to see the landscapes I missed and appreciate the path I have walked. I want to descend not with regret, but with appreciation.

Life is the same. We may not always reach the summit. But that does not mean it is the end. The descent is beautiful only through the mindset with which we walk it.