"非寧靜無以致遠" is often interpreted in vernacular Chinese as "心境安寧清靜，才能達到遠大目標", which translates roughly as "tranquillity is required to reach one's far-reaching goal". This sort of interpretation is questionable for two reasons:
I. Any physical goal or objective can never be accomplished by simply having a tranquil and peaceful mind.
- A phrase from Laozi (老子, ?-531BC): "老子曰：非惔漠無以明德，非寧靜無以致遠，非寬大無以并覆，非正平無以制斷，..." --《通玄真經》
- A phrase from Liu An (劉安, 179–122 BC): "主術訓: 人主之居也，如日月之明也。天下之所同側目而視，側耳而聽，延頸舉踵而望也。是故非澹薄無以明德，非寧靜無以致遠，非寬大無以兼覆，非慈厚無以懷眾，非平正無以制斷。... " -- 《淮南子‧主術訓 》
"明德", "并覆", "制斷", "兼覆", "懷眾" all describe states of mind (心境). "致遠" thus refers to the mind, not any far-reaching physical goals. "遠 (far and deep)" should then be interpreted as "a deep and far-reaching mind" or “ the ability to think deeply and extensively”, not "far-reaching goals".
KS Vincent Poon August 2016