“The emotional cost of failing to attain our goals is great, I won’t deny that. But what is the psychic cost of failing against the psychic cost of not setting goals beyond our abilities out of fear and lack of confidence in ourselves? That is, what is the value in not trying because we fear, before the first step is taken, that we’ll fail?”
– Dustin Wax (Get D.U.M.B.! The Value of Unattainable Goals)

Kabir – The couplet

transliterated:
Bada hua to kya hua, jaise paid khajoor |
>Panchhi ko chhaya nahin, phal laage ati door ||

Translation:
Of what use is the very tall, like the date palm?
No shady shelter for birds, and the fruits are so out of reach ||

My understanding:
Big, tall, great, high – all are nice adjectives, all marking a level that might be difficult to attain. Of what use is the pursuit of a goal that distances us from those around us, or so engrosses us that we neglect common courtesy?
It is good to set tough goals, but our goals need to be synchronous with, complementary to and allow us to work with and be part of everything around us.
Even the pioneers of our histories all worked to further that which they already had – no one snapped the link since continuity is our greatest win and one of our most humane characteristics.
So let us work to further ourselves, but with recognition of everything that brought us here, not in isolation within ourselves.