The danger of letting your starting point become your goals
The words of A Nation At Risk, a U.S. education policy document from 1983 have stuck with me through the years:
we find that for too many people education means doing the minimum work necessary for the moment, then coasting through life on what may have been learned in its first quarter. But this should not surprise us because we tend to express our educational standards and expectations largely in terms of “minimum requirements.” … In some metropolitan areas basic literacy has become the goal rather than the starting point.
It’s easy to let the minimum become the goal rather than the starting point.
Yesterday I played a couple games of ultimate. The temperature hit the 90s and I played more than I had in a long time. I was exhausted. But then when my train home got to Grand Central, I decided to walk home. Doing more gave me enthusiasm to do yet more.
For years I’ve been exercising less than I used to. What was once a warm up became full exercises. I think I’m in decent shape, but I let my basics become my target.
You need peers and references to keep you honest.
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