Look up at the stars, even if you can\’t reach them

My son\’s high school requires students to set a goal for their favorite university and work hard for it starting from the first year of high school. My son’s goal is Tsinghua University. When they first entered the first year of high school, it was the time when they were \”able to swim three thousand miles into the water and be confident in their life for two hundred years.\” All the children were thinking about was \”the sea is wide enough for fish to jump, and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.\” They all have The heroic spirit of \”asking the boundless earth, who is responsible for the ups and downs\”. But reality is often harsh. After taking the exams one after another, the levels are naturally differentiated. My son\’s grades are not ideal. He is ranked in the middle of the pack at best. Although he is making continuous progress, objectively speaking, he is still far behind Tsinghua University. Interestingly, every time he writes the name of his favorite university, his son still writes Tsinghua University. Until the third year of high school, which was about two months before the college entrance examination, the class had to make T-shirts to prepare for the college entrance examination, and they were required to print their class, student number, and the university they wanted to enter. My son still vowed to enroll in Tsinghua University. I was very worried and asked him: \”With your grades, is it not a joke for people to write about Tsinghua University?\” My son replied: \”What a joke! Before the college entrance examination, anything was possible. If you don\’t believe me, just look at it, at least half of our class It says Tsinghua University and Peking University.\” In this way, my son wore a T-shirt with the words Tsinghua University printed on it every day, and stood out in the eyes of other teachers and students until the end of the college entrance examination. Of course, he did not achieve super-level performance and achieve a blockbuster success in the college entrance examination. I remember seeing him outside the examination room after the college entrance examination. The first words I heard were: \”Dad, you will definitely fail the Tsinghua University entrance examination!\” I patted his shoulder and he smiled. If you can\’t pass the exam, you can\’t pass the exam. Just try your best. In the end, my son was admitted to a very high-ranking university in the country. Although it was not as good as Tsinghua University, it was still satisfactory and met our psychological expectations. I often think about what would happen if my son’s goal for the college entrance examination was not Tsinghua University, but an ordinary first-tier university. It is very likely that he will relax in his usual studies and eventually stumble into an ordinary college, leaving regrets in his heart. Many times, if you set a higher goal and work hard, even if you can\’t achieve it, it won\’t be too bad. As someone said, reach for the stars. Even if you can\’t reach the stars, your hands won\’t be filled with dirt. But if your psychological expectations are not high at the beginning and you set a lower standard, the result is likely to be unsatisfactory. In fact, this is true in life, ranging from going shopping in the mall to bargaining with the boss, to large-scale negotiations between enterprises in business, and even interactions between countries. Both sides of the game have a psychological price, and then negotiate the best price they can achieve. In the end, they get a compromise result that is recognized by both parties. If the bottom price is revealed from the beginning and the expectations are not high, you will definitely be passive. In the end, it may be difficult to realize even the lowest expectations. \”Sun Tzu\’s Art of War\” says: \”If you seek the top, you will get the middle; if you seek the middle, you will get the bottom; if you seek the bottom, you will lose.\” This is the truth. In fact, whether in our studies or in life, we are often playing games with ourselves and negotiating with our own potential. If you don\’t even dare to set a high goal, how can you achieve good results? Of course, such a goal cannot be too high.Aiming too far is completely unrealistic. It\’s best to stand on tiptoe and just barely reach it. In this way, it is possible to achieve it without losing confidence because the hope is too slim. Let your children set a higher goal. This is a learning skill and a life skill.