For the most part, we weren't taught to set our own goals and to achieve them. Merely reaching the goal was not enough. When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.
Most people have an ideal image of themselves.
That is because they have built an ideal image of themselves which puts their real self in the shade. Maybe Alpha Centauri. Mistakes are excellent teachers. I'll show you a guy you can beat every time. After all, it's not perfect being perfect.