Lofty Goals

This weekend Steve and I were discussing a goal he was setting that I thought was far too lofty. Here's how the conversation went:

Julie: "Which would you rather have -- a goal you can attain or a goal you know you'll more than likely never reach?"

Steve: "I'd rather fail at a huge goal than attain something that wasn't even a challenge."

This has been interesting for me to ponder. Do I want to have a life full of victories that are never challenging or never stretch me? Or do I want a life with many failures because I tried for what seemed impossible? And oh the feeling of victory at the perceived impossible! Theodore Roosevelt said it this way:

"The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena...who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."