One may miss the mark by aiming too high as too low.

The remark argues that failure is not only the result of timidity or low standards; it can also come from overambition. “Missing the mark” evokes archery: an arrow can overshoot the target just as easily as it can fall short. Fuller’s point is not necessarily anti-aspirational, but anti-extremist: goals should be proportionate to one’s means, timing, and circumstances. The aphorism also critiques a common moral narrative in which only insufficient effort is blamed; it insists that miscalculation at the level of aims—setting them unrealistically high—can produce wasted labor, disappointment, or reckless decisions. Wisdom lies in calibrated ambition.