Shooting for the stars

Reader question:

What does it mean to shoot for the stars? As in: The students are encouraged to shoot for the stars.

My comments:

To shoot for the stars just means to aim high, set a big target, have big goals, dream big dreams.

And not settle for less.

If, that is, you want to realize your full potential as a human being. As the saying goes, it is better to shoot for the stars and miss than aim at the gutter and hit it.

Another cliché. Yes, but this is one of the better clichés to remember and take seriously. As American motivational speaker Les Brown explains: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.”

In Chinese, we have a similar saying, which goes: He who travels 100 miles treats 90 miles as half the distance rather than 50.

Again, this is a good cliché to take seriously because, in the words of Wayne Dyer, another American motivational speaker, we, most people, become the way we are, you know, doing mediocre jobs and generally leading ordinary lives, NOT because we had so big goals that we failed to reach them, but because our goals were too small and they’ve all been met.

Think about it.

In other words, we have long arrived at where we set out to be and no longer have new and bigger challenges. Hence we’ve stopped growing.

In short, we’ve been aiming low.

Ah well, lest I sound like a preacher, let’s move right on to recent media examples of “shoot for the stars” (or, similarly, “shoot for the moon”, “aim for the stars”, “reach for the stars”):

1. shoot for the stars:

Despite decades of research on the benefits of educational expectations, researchers have failed to show that unrealized plans are consequential for mental health, as self-discrepancy and other social psychological theories would predict. This article uses two national longitudinal studies of youth to test whether unrealized educational expectations are associated with depression in adulthood. Negative binomial regression analyses show that unmet expectations are associated with a greater risk of depression among young adults who share similar educational expectations. The apparent consequences of aiming high and falling short result, however, from lower attainment, not the gap between plans and attainment. Results indicate almost no long-term emotional costs of “shooting for the stars” rather than planning for the probable, once educational attainment is taken into account. This lack of association also holds after accounting for early mental health, the magnitude of the shortfall, the stability of expectations, and college-related resources, and it is robust across two distinct cohorts of high school students. We develop a theory of "adaptive resilience" to account for these findings and, because aiming high and failing are not consequential for mental health, conclude that society should not dissuade unpromising students from dreams of college.

- Is There a Downside to Shooting for the Stars? American Sociological Review, Vol. 75, No. 1, 151-172 (2010), ASR.SagePub.com.

2. shoot for the moon:

Roberto Mancini is to receive backing from Manchester City’s owners to make an £80 million bid this summer for Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery as he tries to mould a Premier League-winning team.

The Italian will confirm in a television interview on Sunday that he intends to honour his 3½-year deal, allaying the fears of fans who believed that his appointment was only a six-month stopgap solution.

A key factor in his commitment is the promise from Sheikh Mansour that he will be given carte blanche to pursue whatever transfer target he deems fit...

No wonder it has taken so little time for chants of his name to echo around the City of Manchester Stadium. Suddenly, the fans’ Blue Moon anthem has acquired a portentousness to replace its usual tragicomic pathos. Mancini can — and, far more significantly, has the backing — to shoot for the moon.

- Mancini can shoot for the moon with bid for Franck Ribery, Telegraph.co.uk, January 30, 2010.

3. aim for the stars:

Fifa vice-president, Jack Warner, turned motivational speaker yesterday, as he explained to the 150-plus students at the 11th Thinking Sport Symposium held over the past four days at the Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, that, determination will get them wherever their hearts desire. “The only difference between possible and the impossible, is your grit and your determination to succeed,” said Warner.

In the intimate environment to which Warner has grown accustomed to, having facilitated at the event numerous times in the past, the Chaguanas-West MP, shared with the secondary school students, his life, from a little boy who walked to school and back every day, to being one of the most powerful men in football today.

“I grew up in a rural community in south Trinidad, in a single parent home with little extra to go around. But even then I knew I wanted to succeed, times may have changed but the formula to success remains the same, hard work, dedication and sacrifice are keys components to success,” Warner said. He challenged the youth to not only dream great dreams but initiate the follow up action which is necessary to ensure that dreams are not fleeting thoughts but they are destination points in life’s journey.

“I want to challenge you today; aim for the stars. Let us mark this day on our calendars. Where will you be in one year? What would you have learned? Would you be closer to your destination point?”

- Warner urges youths to aim for the stars, Guardian.co.tt, April 2, 2010.

4. reach for the stars:

The first African-American astronaut to walk in space spoke with hundreds of students during a recent trip to the Valley.

Dr. Bernard Harris spoke to 700 students at the University Public School Phoenix auditorium.

His message to the kids -- reach for the stars.

More specifically, realizing their own personal potential through the problem solving skills they learn in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

- Spacewalker encourages Valley kids to ‘reach for the stars’, ABC15.com, May 8, 2010.