The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

The saying contrasts two kinds of failure: missing an ambitious goal versus succeeding at an unambitious one. Its force lies in reframing “failure” as sometimes less harmful than complacent success—arguing that human potential is more often limited by timid aspiration than by overreach. Read as advice on artistic, moral, or professional striving, it encourages setting demanding standards that stretch ability and imagination. The aphorism has become a staple of modern motivational rhetoric, often invoked in education and leadership contexts to justify risk-taking and high expectations, even when outcomes fall short of perfection.

1) “The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
2) “The greatest danger is not in aiming too high and missing the mark, but in aiming too low and reaching it.”
3) “The greater peril lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting it too low and attaining it.”