“Everything worthwhile is uphill.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity (p. 134). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Earlier John says, “…Everything worthwhile in life— everything you want, everything you desire to achieve, everything you want to receive— is uphill. The problem is that most of us have uphill dreams but downhill habits. And that’s why we have a cap on our production capacity.”

He then says, “Everything worthwhile is uphill.  I want you to let that really sink in. I want you to feel the implications of that statement. To help with that, let’s look at the components individually:

·      Everything is inclusive. It means total, all-encompassing. Nothing is excluded.

·      Worthwhile is a good word. It means desirable, advisable, appropriate, good for you.  

·      Uphill is demanding. It means the experience is going to be grueling, exhausting, rugged, punishing, strenuous.”

He goes on, “The word everything holds promise. We like that. The word worthwhile is attractive. We want what’s worthwhile. But uphill? That’s challenging. Many of us do not want to deal with that.”

He continues, “Downhill is easy. It has no requirements. It doesn’t take any effort. It’s like feeling the effects of gravity, which continually pull us down. You can slide downhill— in your sleep. A downhill lifestyle is characterized by unintentionality, complacency, inconsistency, and excuses. There is no big-picture vision for the future, only instant gratification.

“Uphill is hard. Moving uphill requires intentionality, energy, determination, hard work, and consistency. It requires you to keep an eye on the big picture, be determined, demonstrate character, and put in the time. The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same thing.

“More and more people resist doing the right thing because it’s hard, so they choose the easy thing. They go downhill instead of uphill.

Again, John says, “The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same thing.”

So where are you headed?