30. A man's reach should exceed his grasp.

One year as a teacher, I had a small poster on my wall that proclaimed, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp." I never commented on it nor used it as anything other than a decoration. Years later, I encountered a student from that time who made a point of reminding me of the poster. She said she read it every day and it made an impact on her life. I was quite surprised at her comment and it again taught me about how we often never know how we influence students - purposefully or accidentally.

Her comment made me examine the poster a little more closely. In my mind, I always felt that the poster was a positive encouragement to try to attain the best for yourself. Don't just settle for the usual and the ordinary, but try for the gold medal and don't just target the silver medal as good enough. Push yourself and go the extra mile. There is no shortage of similar epithets with the same message. 

There is however a second interpretation that I had never really considered when I hung the poster. It could have been read as an encouragement to be more self-centred and greedy. It might seem to encourage over-consumption, indulging in excess, and always wanting more of everything. None of these traits are the ones that I would have wanted my students to read into the poster. 

Thankfully, the young girl, who reminded me of the poster had internalized my first interpretation. She was an average student who went on to earn a college degree and became a successful adult. She had learned the value of pushing yourself to always do a little better. This kind of intrinsic motivation is not often developed by many students. They require others to push them. 

In my own life, I always tried to do my best, but I am not sure if I really set enough goals for a higher reward. I tended to follow the path that I found myself on. Like many, I often just took the next logical step or the next convenient route. 

Image how dangerous I would have become had I reached higher!