What is the structure of "a goal remote in the pursuit is so easy to lose sight of"?

A goal remote in the pursuit is so easy to lose sight of.

What does "a goal remote in the pursuit" mean here? I don't understand it structure-wise.

Solution 1:

I'd say the effect of this rather curious construction is to give an "archaic" flavour to a latter-day "pseudo-adage". Structurally, remote is an adjective modifying the goal. Normally it would come before the noun, but here you could say it's a post-positive adjective (coming after the noun).

To further complicate things, remote is modified by the additional adjectival clause in the pursuit.

Or (as per the Wkipedia link above), you could say it applies elision to the underlying structure...

A goal [that is] remote in the pursuit is so easy to lose sight of.

As to meaning, it's just saying if your goal is too ambitious/far in the future, you risk losing sight of it (being distracted by day-to-day activities you only undertook originally in pursuit of that goal).

EDIT: Comments (and a downvote!) may indicate not everyone is happy with the basic format...

an X that is Y in the Z
a [noun] that is [adjective] in the [noun/gerund]

As I said initially, it's a "curious" construction, which I would not advise less competent speakers to experiment with. But although I wouldn't say it's exactly "productive" today, here are a few related examples to show the basic format[s] are used elsewhere...

broad in the beam (jocular "wide-hipped", of nautical origins)
far in the offing (usually, in negated forms)
masterpiece in the making (i.e. - in the process of being made)
long in the writing (i.e. - where "the writing" is a lengthy process)
long in the construction (just to show that the noun isn't always a gerund form)