Perseverance story: The kings challenge to see who will give up too quickly

There was once a rich king who was looking for the right man to marry his daughter. So he decided to set a challenge to see which man has the right mindset and will not give up at the first sign of hard times. For any candidate to pass the challenge they had to wear the royal metal armor and climb 500 stairs to the top of the mountain where the king’s castle was located. Many men from around the world came to take on the challenge. But as soon as they put on the armor, they realized that it will be an impossible task. Most men took the first step, then they looked up at the remaining 499 steps and gave up. A couple of men managed to get to the second step but then decided to give up. And so it went on for the next couple of hundred men, some making it even to the third step.

The king was looking really worried. He wondered if there was any person worthy of his daughter. Everyone who came and tried their luck with the challenge stayed after they failed to see if anyone would be able to pass the challenge. Nobody believed it could be done. Everyone has failed so far and they were talking that the challenge was set up so it couldn’t be completed. The strongest military men tried and failed. The best athletes tried and failed. The hardest working men tried and weren’t able to get past the third stairs. No one was able to make it any further. They all blamed the armor and the steps. If only the armor was lighter if only the stairs wouldn’t be so steep.

And then to the surprise of everyone, a young man that didn’t look special said he wanted to try. As everyone else before him, he got his chance. He put on the heavy armor and went towards the steps. Everyone yelled he wouldn’t be able to get past the first step. But he made to to the second in no time. When he came to the fourth step he could barely lift his shaking feet. But he took a deep breath and made the next step. Now he felt like he was about to drop, but he decided to push on. He kept repeating to himself “One step at a time. I just need to make this one.”

As he got to the fifth step, he suddenly felt a huge pull from the top. Suddenly his armor was a little bit lighter. So he decided to make one more step saying to himself “I’m not ready to give up yet”. To his surprise, on this next step, the armor felt lighter. He felt very tired but thought he can make one more step. And so the “not so special young man” continued. With each step, he felt his armor getting lighter and his goal closer.

When the young man completed this challenge the king first congratulated him and then shared with him a secret about the challenge, “You see the point of the challenge was to make sure that the man who is going to marry my daughter would not be the kind of man that would give up at the first couple of tough moments. The armor represents the tough moments and the magnet on top that made each step easier after the couple few you had to make on your own represented the willpower and experience that will make your future endeavors easier to bare. Because with the right kind of person by your side and with the right kind of mindset and focus you can achieve anything no matter the weight of the problem. So now you know that the hard part in every situation you two will face in the future are the first couple of steps and then it will get easier. You have proved yourself and can now marry my daughter.”