When You’re Almost There and Everything Falls Apart
I am sure you have played “Snake & Ladders” in childhood. There are multiple ladders and snakes on our way from 0 to 100. Ladders help us climb and snakes pulls us down.
We celebrate when we climb and we sulk when snake pulls us down. However our heart drops when we are at 97, just 3 moves and we are winner and 1 move away from despair.
You know that feeling?
You’re at 98, way there and the finish line is close enough to cross. You’ve spent years grinding, climbing, positioning yourself perfectly—and then, out of nowhere, it all goes sideways. One wrong move, one unexpected obstacle, and suddenly you’re tumbling all the way back down.
It’s disorienting. It’s frustrating. And the first thing your brain tells you? Walk away. You’re done.
But here’s what I want you to know: sliding down isn’t game over. You’re still in the game. You still have the dice. And this time? You’re coming back up with something you didn’t have before—hard-earned experience.
The Fall Hits Hardest When You’re Almost Home
This is the thing that most professionals face however very few talk about it: the obstacles that hurt the most aren’t the ones that hit you at the start. They’re the ones that catch you at 98.
Think about it. A project collapses the week before launch. A business you’ve poured five years into fails at the final contract stage. A career breakthrough unravels right when you thought it was locked in.
When you’re that close, everything feels more fragile. You’re tired. Your blind spots are bigger. And the closer you are to the top, the farther the fall feels when it happens.
The Shock of the Drop
What makes the slide from 98 to 9 so brutal?—it’s not just the setback. It’s the psychological hit.
One moment, you’re touching the sky. The next, you’re looking up from the bottom wondering how you got here. The gap between where you were and where you are now creates this dizzying feeling. Grief. Humiliation. Exhaustion. Your brain screams that all that previous effort was for nothing.
But there’s a difference between a reset and a game over. You sliding down to 9 is not the same as never having picked up the dice at all.
You’re Still in the Game
The truth: no matter how long the snake is, it doesn’t kick you off the board.
You’re still there. You still have a seat at the table. And staying? That’s a choice. A deliberate choice to say no to permanent defeat.
The only way you lose is if you decide to walk away. Sliding down to 9 just means this attempt ended. The game itself is still going.
The Second Climb Is Different
When you climb back up from 9 the second time, you’re not the same person who started at square 1.
You remember every move. You know where the terrain gets steep. You can feel the traps before you step into them. You know what caught you off guard last time, and you’re not making that mistake again.
You’re not a beginner relying on luck anymore. You’re a veteran who knows the board inside and out. That experience? That’s yours to keep. And it changes everything about how you play the game the second time around.
Roll Again
Life will always have unpredictable moves. You can’t control every roll of the dice, and there’s no guarantee that another snake won’t show up on square 98.
Real resilience is not about never falling. It’s about the willingness to take a deep breath, pick up the dice, and roll again from square 9.
The outcome of any single turn matters far less than your commitment to stay in the game.
We tend to celebrate linear success stories, but the most powerful turnarounds happen after a massive drop. Dropping back to square 9 after touching 98 isn’t proof that you faile, it’s proof that you were bold enough to play at the highest level. The setback is temporary, but the strategic clarity you gain along the way stays with you forever.
Have you ever faced a late-stage setback that forced you to rebuild right before a win?
Drop your story or key takeaways in the comments below, I’d love to learn how you handled the turn.
#Resilience #Mindset #Leadership #CareerDevelopment #PersonalGrowth #OvercomingObstacles
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