Why Reaching Your Goals Could Be Deadly

—Mark Pfeifer

Did you know that you are eight times more likely to die after reaching the summit of Mt. Everest than you are while climbing toward it? That’s a staggering thought. More people die after touching the peak than die on the way up.

Here’s the leadership lesson hidden in the ice: The decisions we make after reaching our goals are every bit as critical as the decisions that got us there. In some ways, they are even more consequential.

My mind immediately goes to David. After some of the greatest victories of his life, Scripture says in II Samuel 11:1, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”

Notice what happened. David outsourced the battle. Perhaps he convinced himself he had fought enough wars for one lifetime. Maybe he assumed he had reached the summit of military success and now had earned the right to sit back, enjoy the spoils, and let others carry the burden.

But in the verses that follow, David’s moral collapse begins to unfold. Bored, unchallenged, and no longer stretched by responsibility, he wanders aimlessly across the roof of his palace at night.

From the heights of his own success, he sees Bathsheba bathing below. He sends for her, sexually abuses her, orchestrates the murder of her husband to cover his sin, and the child conceived that night dies at birth.

When I think about the danger that exists after we reach our goals, I cannot help but see the parallel with Everest. Sometimes the most dangerous moments in life are not while we are striving, but after we have succeeded. I honestly wonder if we are not eight times more vulnerable to moral collapse after success than we were while laboring to get there. I believe we are.

So, what do we do about it? How do we avoid becoming another David on the palace roof or another climber who touched the summit but never made it home? Here are five thoughts that may help keep us safe.

1. ACCEPT THAT STRUGGLE NEVER ENDS

Just swallow hard and accept it. Until we get to heaven, there will never be a season in this life where we are entirely free from struggle. Human nature longs for a place where turmoil disappears, where chaos subsides, and where everything finally settles into permanent ease. Struggle feels foreign to us, almost like an intruder stealing our happiness.

I believe this is the residual effect of Eden. God created humanity for peace, wholeness, and unhindered fellowship with Him. But after Adam and Eve sinned, chaos entered the human story. Somewhere deep inside, every one of us knows the world is not as it should be.

The peace we instinctively long for will not be fully realized until we leave this world. Even for Spirit-filled Christians, peace is something that must be worked for, protected, and sometimes fought for in the middle of constant conflict. Throughout our lives we keep pressing against the currents of chaos, taking ground little by little, until we receive our eternal reward.

This process never ends – So we keep climbing!

2. DON’T GIVE YOURSELF TOO MANY BREAKS

I know, I know. Modern language constantly tells us we are too hard on ourselves and need to give ourselves a break. In many situations that is absolutely true. But the other side is also true: too many breaks can quickly become excuse-making, entitlement, and self-pity.

I have seen this pattern over and over again. A successful person begins justifying poor decisions under the banner of I’ve worked hard, I deserve this, or I’ve earned the right.

Yes, all of us need moments of rest. But whenever you do, remember David. Remember the danger of the descent after the summit. Remember that Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us that to everything there is a season, and even a good thing like rest can become destructive when taken out of season.

3. FIND THE NEXT SUMMIT

There are always more mountains ahead.

Now, this can certainly become selfish if left unchecked, but I also believe God placed the instinct for achievement in the human heart. How else do you explain the unstoppable drive in a child to walk, talk, solve puzzles, build, learn, and score the winning goal? We were born with the impulse to move forward.

That should not surprise us. In Genesis 1:28, God commanded Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and exercise dominion. Later, Christ reframed that same impulse in Matthew 28:19 when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” Achievement, rightly ordered, is one of the ways we respond to Divine assignment.

To avoid David’s pitfall, we must never allow ourselves to rest on our laurels and slide into complacency. There are too many mountains yet to climb and too many summits still waiting.

Which leads naturally to the next point.

4. DON’T BE IMPRESSED WITH YOURSELF

Healthy self-esteem matters. It is necessary. But there is a tipping point where confidence mutates into self-importance.

There comes a time when self-regard becomes destructive both to ourselves and to everyone around us. The line is usually crossed when accomplishment produces superiority, when position creates entitlement, and when success whispers the lie that the rules no longer apply to us.

That is a dangerous place!

Paul’s words in Romans 12:16 should remain close to every successful leader’s heart: “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”

Those are words to live by.

5. VALUE THE PROCESS AS MUCH AS THE GOAL

There really is such a thing as being too goal oriented.

Think again about Everest climbers. Many die on the descent because of choices they made on the ascent. They ignored warning signs, pushed past safe limits, underestimated their gear, ran low on oxygen, or climbed too late in the day. In other words, the seeds of their downfall were planted long before they ever touched the summit.

The same is true in life.

Success rarely changes a person. More often, it reveals outwardly what was already present inwardly. As the old saying goes, money does not change people, it affords them the opportunity to reveal to the world who they already are.

One of the keys to surviving the perils of success is learning to value the process. The lessons learned on the way up the mountain are just as important, sometimes more important, than reaching the summit itself. Achievement is always worthwhile, but the character forged in the climb usually matters more than the victory.

The tools we carry to the next mountain are the lessons we learned on the last one.

Do not become a needless casualty of success. Consider these lessons carefully and take heed to yourself as you climb the next mountain.

-Mark W Pfeifer