Let $X$ be a totally ordered set without a maximum element and without a minimum element. As it is indicated here, there is a cofinal subset of $X$ indexed by an ordinal $\beta_1$, say $\{x_\alpha:\alpha<\beta_1\}$. Similarly, we can prove (again assuming the Axiom of Choice) the existence of a coinitial set $\{y_\alpha:\alpha<\beta_2\}$, for some ordinal $\beta_2$.
Are there sets $\{y_\alpha\in X:\alpha<\beta\}$ and $\{x_\alpha\in X:\alpha<\beta\}$ (for certain ordinal $\beta$) satisfying the following conditions?:
- $\{y_\alpha:\alpha<\beta\}$ is coinitial in $X$ and $\{x_\alpha:\alpha<\beta\}$ is cofinal in $X$.
- $y_\alpha<x_\alpha$ for all $\alpha<\beta$.
- $\alpha_1<\alpha_2<\beta\Rightarrow [y_{\alpha_2}<y_{\alpha_1} \mbox{ and } x_{\alpha_1}<x_{\alpha_2}]$
No, in general. If $\kappa,\lambda$ are ordinals with different (infinite) cofinalities - say, $\kappa=\omega$ and $\lambda=\omega_1$ - then the linear order $\kappa^*+\lambda$ is a counterexample: any coinitial sequence has cofinality $cf(\kappa)$, while any cofinal sequence has cofinality $cf(\lambda)$.
(Here "$A^*$" denotes the reverse of the linear order $A$.)