Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached

Hear the words of Dag Hammarskjöld, statesman, mystic, and servant of peace: “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” At first, this saying seems a paradox. How can a mountain, which looms so high and daunting from below, appear low from above? Yet within this paradox lies a wisdom for the journey of life: that what appears impossible from afar becomes small once it has been overcome. The greatness of our obstacles is not in their nature, but in our fear of them. Once conquered, they reveal themselves as stepping stones, not insurmountable walls.

The ancients, too, knew this truth. Herodotus wrote of the Persians who trembled before the narrow pass of Thermopylae, believing it an impassable trap. Yet Leonidas and his three hundred stood firm, and though they perished, their stand showed the world that even the mightiest mountain of fear could be faced. From a distance, the enemy seemed overwhelming; from the summit of courage, the obstacle seemed small. Hammarskjöld’s words echo this eternal lesson: do not despair at the foot of the mountain, for perspective belongs only to those who climb.

To say, “wait until you reach the top” is also to speak of endurance. Many turn back because they imagine the height to be too great. But to the soul that climbs step by step, the summit always draws nearer. Once reached, the weary climber looks back and wonders: was this the mountain that once filled me with dread? Was this the height I thought impossible? Thus, the wisdom of the quote is not about denying difficulty, but about the transformation of perception through perseverance. The mountain does not change — we change in the act of climbing.

Consider the life of Sir Edmund Hillary, who, with Tenzing Norgay, was the first to stand atop Mount Everest. Before their ascent, Everest was thought by many to be unconquerable, the highest peak in the world and a graveyard of attempts. Yet when Hillary reached the summit, his words were simple: “We knocked the bastard off.” The mountain had not changed its height, but to the climber who had conquered it, its majesty was now tempered with humility. What once seemed endless became simply another challenge overcome. This is Hammarskjöld’s vision: the victory redefines the obstacle.

The quote also holds a lesson for the spirit. Many of our mountains are not of rock and snow, but of fear, grief, despair, or doubt. From below, they rise like unscalable cliffs. But when we face them, climb them, endure them, and finally stand upon their summit, we see them differently. We realize that they were not as impossible as they seemed, and that the strength we gained in the climb made us greater than the obstacle itself. This is why Hammarskjöld, who bore the crushing weight of global responsibility as Secretary-General of the United Nations, could speak such words. He knew from experience that burdens appear heavy only until they are borne.

The lesson is clear: do not measure the mountain by its shadow at your feet. Measure it only after you have conquered it. Fear exaggerates, distance deceives, and the imagination inflates every trial. But courage, perseverance, and faith shrink every challenge once it is overcome. What terrifies you today may tomorrow seem small, if only you keep climbing.

Practical action lies within reach. When facing a daunting task, do not despair at its magnitude; begin the climb. Take one step, then another, trusting that the summit will come. Keep your eyes not on the shadow of the mountain, but on the path before you. And when you reach the top — as you surely will, if you endure — take time to look back, to see how low the mountain truly was, and to give thanks for the strength you discovered along the way.

So let Hammarskjöld’s words echo in your soul: “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” For every mountain in life, whether of earth or spirit, is smaller than it appears — and the heart that climbs becomes larger than the peak it conquers.