How to Read “Achieving success is like climbing to heaven”
Seiritsu no kataki wa ten ni noboru ga gotoshi
Meaning of “Achieving success is like climbing to heaven”
This proverb expresses how extremely difficult it is to accomplish something. By comparing achievement to climbing to heaven, an act nearly impossible for humans, it emphasizes how hard reaching goals can be.
People use this saying when starting a major project or plan. It helps them recognize the difficulty and prepare mentally for the challenge ahead.
Sometimes people use it when someone is about to face a difficult challenge. It communicates just how tough the journey will be.
This expression works better than simply saying “it’s difficult.” The concrete image of climbing to heaven makes the level of difficulty much clearer.
When listeners imagine defying gravity and rising high into the sky, they can truly feel how hard the achievement will be.
Even today, this expression remains useful. It applies when discussing new business launches, major goal pursuits, or anything not easily accomplished.
Origin and Etymology
No clear records exist about the exact origin of this proverb. However, the structure of the phrase offers interesting insights.
The word “seiritsu” means accomplishing or completing something. “Kataki” is classical Japanese for “difficult.” The phrase “ten ni noboru” means rising high into the sky.
Ancient Chinese and Japanese worldviews likely influenced this expression. Heaven symbolized the most distant, unreachable place for humans.
Climbing to heaven while defying gravity was nearly impossible for human strength. This physical difficulty mirrors the challenge of accomplishing difficult tasks.
The choice of the character “升” for “noboru” is interesting. Using this character instead of “昇” gives a more classical, dignified impression.
This suggests the proverb may have formed in relatively ancient times.
In classical Chinese thought, heaven was the supreme existence. It represented a realm beyond human effort alone.
This philosophical background likely influenced how this proverb took shape.
Usage Examples
- Getting a new business off the ground is like “Achieving success is like climbing to heaven” – it never goes smoothly
- His plan is wonderful, but making it real will be like “Achieving success is like climbing to heaven”
Universal Wisdom
“Achieving success is like climbing to heaven” reveals two emotions humans have always held. These are the longing for achievement and the fear of difficulty.
Humans have a strong desire to accomplish something. This might be a personal dream or a group goal.
The forms vary, but the wish to “make it happen” is a fundamental human trait.
Yet our ancestors learned from experience. They discovered that accomplishing things is far more difficult than imagined.
This proverb has been passed down because it captures a truth about human endeavor. In every era, people have worked to realize something.
Most of the time, they faced a steep and difficult path. The metaphor of climbing to heaven isn’t mere exaggeration.
It expresses the actual difficulty that challengers have felt.
What’s interesting is that this proverb never says “give up because it’s impossible.” The phrase “like climbing to heaven” acknowledges extreme difficulty.
But it doesn’t declare complete impossibility. Perhaps it contains the indomitable human spirit.
It recognizes difficulty while suggesting the challenge still has value.
When AI Hears This
Physics has an absolute rule called “the law of entropy increase.” This is a basic universal principle: “Left alone, everything moves toward disorder.”
A messy room doesn’t clean itself naturally. A broken cup won’t spontaneously repair itself.
Creating an orderly state always requires injecting energy from outside.
“Seiritsu” (achievement) in this proverb is exactly the act of opposing entropy. Consider establishing a company, for example.
Creating organizational order from nothing requires enormous energy: funds, personnel, information, and time.
Complex systems research shows that complex systems like organizations become more unstable as components increase.
A 100-person organization has exponentially more communication pathways than a 10-person one. The possibility of collapse rises sharply.
Even more interesting: entropy doesn’t increase at a constant rate. As systems grow complex, the force toward disorder accelerates.
The closer you get to “achievement,” the more dramatically the required energy increases.
The expression about difficulty increasing like climbing to heaven shows something remarkable. People in an era without knowledge of physics intuitively grasped this non-linear increase in difficulty.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of correctly recognizing difficulty. We sometimes view things too optimistically.
Plans started with the sweet expectation that “things will work out somehow” often fail when facing unexpected difficulties.
Haven’t we all had such experiences?
This proverb, comparing achievement difficulty to climbing to heaven, first encourages us to face reality. If your goal truly has value, you should understand from the start that the path will be steep.
Then, when you face difficulties, you won’t panic thinking “this wasn’t supposed to happen.” You can respond calmly instead.
At the same time, this proverb teaches the importance of preparation. If you’re taking on a challenge as difficult as climbing to heaven, you need appropriate preparation.
Thorough planning, securing necessary resources, building relationships with collaborators – neglecting these reduces your chances of success even further.
Most importantly, you need courage to challenge despite knowing the difficulty. Precisely because it’s hard, the value of accomplishment is great.
Comments