--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We try and fail, like archers who aim for…" description: "\"“We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the mark.’ Eva watched as she removed the lace shawl. ‘When you are older and h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg" --- # We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but… ![“We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the mark.’ Eva watched as she removed the lace shawl. ‘When you are older and have swum out into the stream of life, you’ll see – there are no “good” people, little girl. We’re all trying and failing, trying too hard and…” quote by Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg) > ““We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the mark.’ Eva watched as she removed the lace shawl. ‘When you are older and have swum out into the stream of life, you’ll see – there are no “good” people, little girl. We’re all trying and failing, trying too hard and failing too often. Remember that. We shouldn’t judge too harshly, in the end, the sins of others.”” [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everyone experiences failure; judging others harshly ignores shared humanity. **In simple terms:** We all fail and should be compassionate. Key Takeaway Practice empathy toward others’ mistakes. Themes compassion failure judgment humanity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - parenting - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology empathy Questions to Reflect On - What judgments do you hold about others’ failures? - How can you cultivate kinder self‑talk? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on judgment can hinder self-improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Little girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) [Trying and failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-and-failing/) [Trying too hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-too-hard/) ## Related quotes > [“When you are older and have swum out into the stream of life, you'll see -- there are no "good" people, little girl. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/when-you-are-older-and-have-swum-out-into-the-stream-of-life-you-ll/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“To sin. To miss the mark ... We try and we fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/to-sin-to-miss-the-mark-we-try-and-we-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [You win by trying. And failing. Test, try, fail, measure, evolve, repeat, persist, ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-win-by-trying-and-failing-test-try-fail-measure-evolve-repeat/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“...there is so much beauty in the trying, and in the failing, and in the trying again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-calhoun/there-is-so-much-beauty-in-the-trying-and-in-the-failing-and-in-the/) [Ada Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-calhoun/) > [“But that is how one learns, is it not? By trying and failing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-golden/but-that-is-how-one-learns-is-it-not-by-trying-and-failing/) [Christie Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-golden/) > [Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/next-to-trying-and-winning-the-best-thing-is-trying-and-failing/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [I just keep trying and failing and I will continue to keep trying to see what I can do to try to keep people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-franklin/i-just-keep-trying-and-failing-and-i-will-continue-to-keep-trying-to/) [Kirk Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-franklin/) > [If you're not failing, you're not trying anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/if-you-re-not-failing-you-re-not-trying-anything/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Trying and failing is still getting you one step closer to success than what doing nothing does. You don’t fail; you only learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-coron/trying-and-failing-is-still-getting-you-one-step-closer-to-success/) [Jeanette Coron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-coron/) > [“Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/never-feel-shame-for-trying-and-failing-for-he-who-has-never-failed/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Even the best comedians aren't always sure what is going to be funny, what is going to work. So that means they're constantly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/even-the-best-comedians-aren-t-always-sure-what-is-going-to-be-funny/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [You learn by trying and failing. Just a lot of hard work and mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/you-learn-by-trying-and-failing-just-a-lot-of-hard-work-and-mistakes/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [I found my style and how I like to do makeup from trying and failing and trying and failing again, and unfortunately, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-graham/i-found-my-style-and-how-i-like-to-do-makeup-from-trying-and-failing/) [Kat Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-graham/) > [Because such a massive part of stand-up is trying and failing first, I'm not putting as much pressure on. Just going out and doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-acaster/because-such-a-massive-part-of-stand-up-is-trying-and-failing-first-i/) [James Acaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-acaster/) > [If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-michaels/if-you-re-not-failing-you-re-not-trying-hard-enough/) [Jillian Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-michaels/) ## More by Kathleen Tessaro > [“Mass was like grand opera, a magic show with the most expensive props in town. And faith, a sleight of hand trick, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/mass-was-like-grand-opera-a-magic-show-with-the-most-expensive-props/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“To me, chance isn't random. The universe is bound by unseen threads. We have only to untangle them a little to see a pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/to-me-chance-isn-t-random-the-universe-is-bound-by-unseen-threads-we/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I want to go to a café and sit with you. I want you to order something I've never eaten before and tease me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-want-to-go-to-a-caf-and-sit-with-you-i-want-you-to-order-something/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [My husband claims I have an unhealthy obsession with secondhand bookshops. That I spend too much time daydreaming altogether. But either you intrinsically understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/my-husband-claims-i-have-an-unhealthy-obsession-with-secondhand/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I'm going to tell you something that no magazine or novel or television show will ever let on. Love wears you down. We think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-m-going-to-tell-you-something-that-no-magazine-or-novel-or/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“There is nothing more difficult than simplicity,’ Madame”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-than-simplicity-madame/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I’d like to live in great comfort. And peace.’ And then she added, quite to her surprise, ‘With no one to tell me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-d-like-to-live-in-great-comfort-and-peace-and-then-she-added-quite/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I believe it’s a privilege, madam. One that’s earned through a certain amount of courage and adversity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-believe-it-s-a-privilege-madam-one-that-s-earned-through-a-certain/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Paulette shook her head and sighed. In her world Grace had failed to meet the responsibility of her own beauty. This was not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/paulette-shook-her-head-and-sighed-in-her-world-grace-had-failed-to/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“He was uncannily skilled at dissecting hidden meaning behind every interaction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/he-was-uncannily-skilled-at-dissecting-hidden-meaning-behind-every/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Likewise, while the men and women were no more naturally attractive than their English counterparts, they dressed with an assurance and attention to detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/likewise-while-the-men-and-women-were-no-more-naturally-attractive/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Around her the tables were filling with people, tourists planning their next stop over a coffee, businessmen meeting for luncheon, well-heeled women taking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/around-her-the-tables-were-filling-with-people-tourists-planning/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Are we at war with fate?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/are-we-at-war-with-fate/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Smells are custodians of memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/smells-are-custodians-of-memories/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“In every book she’d ever read, the heroine was subject to self-doubt and unjust criticism. And in every case, it only served to harden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/in-every-book-she-d-ever-read-the-heroine-was-subject-to-self-doubt/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) [Explore all 76 Kathleen Tessaro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) ## More Failing quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Apologies are not pass/fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/apologies-are-not-pass-fail/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/trial-by-jury-live-wherever-you-can-make-a-living-how-could-a/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [I would warn against holsters with devices for quick-draw. Devices always fail when you need them most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/i-would-warn-against-holsters-with-devices-for-quick-draw-devices/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I wake up every morning fearing I am going to fail. But I love a challenge, big or small. There's so much I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-mone/i-wake-up-every-morning-fearing-i-am-going-to-fail-but-i-love-a/) [Michelle Mone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-mone/) > [What I want is to be willing to fail rather than stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/what-i-want-is-to-be-willing-to-fail-rather-than-stagnate/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-levchin/the-very-first-company-i-started-failed-with-a-great-bang-the-second/) [Max Levchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-levchin/) Browse all 5,634 Failing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the mark.’ Eva watched as she removed the lace shawl. ‘When you are older and have swum out into the stream of life, you’ll see – there are no “good” people, little girl. We’re all trying and failing, trying too hard and failing too often. Remember that. We shouldn’t judge too harshly, in the end, the sins of others.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathleen Tessaro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for-the-target-but-fall-short-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for-the-target-but-fall-short-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/kathleen-tessaro-8887_failure_we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for_2113928.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We try and fail, like archers who aim for the target but fall short of the mark.’ Eva watched as she removed…” — Kathleen Tessaro", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kathleen Tessaro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We try and fail, like archers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for-the-target-but-fall-short-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/we-try-and-fail-like-archers-who-aim-for-the-target-but-fall-short-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```