Inspiration | Personal Development

The 4 A’s of Archery and Achievement

A lesson from archery

Did you know you can take several great life lessons from the sport of archery? Everyone is familiar with the phrase aim high, but there is more to accomplishing what you want than aiming alone. Let’s look at four steps you can use from archery to help you achieve far more in life.

Lessons from archery

Few realize the term archery comes from the Latin word “arcus.” Guess what arcus means? Something curved, such as an arch or a bow.

Something interesting to note is that the two strongest structural shapes are an arch and a triangle. The bow is arched, and the bowstring forms a triangle when drawn! Together, they exert tremendous force to propel the arrow forward.

A well-known fundamental of archery Is that to hit a target, especially one far away, you must aim high. The arrow’s trajectory forms another arc because of the effect of gravity. The farther the target, the higher you must aim. Aim too low, and the arrow will fall short.

“Failure is not the crime. Low aim is.” John Wooden (1910–2010)

When setting personal goals or targets, the closer they are, the easier they are to hit. As the target moves farther away, the degree of difficulty increases even when the target is larger. Isn’t that just like the things we aim for in life? We can accomplish those easier and closer goals, but the larger, farther-out targets can be challenging. If you do not aim high and accurately, there is no way you will hit them at all.

The farther the target, the greater the potential of failing, and the greater the reward when you hit it. Almost anyone can hit a bullseye at 5 meters, but to hit a target at Olympic distances of 70 meters takes more practice and skill, requiring learning through failing to hit the target. Some choose even greater distances of up to 250 meters and more! Their risk of failure significantly increases, but their reward is oh-so-sweet!

The four a’s of achievement

One of the biggest lessons I wish I had learned earlier in life was to aim higher. Unfortunately, there was a time when I didn’t even grab the proverbial bow and arrow, so how could I shoot and hit anything?

I could have accomplished much more at a younger age if I had only pushed myself a little. Maybe I was a slow learner, but fortunately, the lessons continued, and I finally got it.

One advantage to getting older is looking back and realizing what you once thought was difficult was not nearly as challenging as you made it out to be. When this hindsight occurs, you know you can accomplish more if you will only push yourself.

Each of us has greater capacity than we realize. The way to tap into this extra capacity is to make our targets larger, which often means they are farther away, stretching our ability to hit them.

An example was when I first stepped into a management role early in my career. My self-limiting beliefs and lack of confidence held me back for the first few years. I did not think I was good enough to apply for a job in a larger company. Yet, one day, I decided to take a shot and aimed high. Although I lacked some experience, they hired me. I stepped into a much larger role (or maybe stumbled into it!), and things worked out.

I had the capacity in me all along but had just not realized it. Perhaps it was because I was afraid of failing or being rejected. But this one experience taught me to aim higher and not be afraid. I learned the lesson that I had more in me than I realized, as we all do!

Using the archery analogy, let’s look at its parallels with life to help you achieve more.

The four basic steps in archery and achievement include:

• Aim (choose your target)
• Arrange (nock the arrow on the bowstring)
• Apply effort (draw the bowstring)
• Act (loose the arrow)

Notice that achievement, archery, and the four steps begin with an a.

Aim (choose your target)

Before doing anything, you must have something to aim at. What target do you think is out of reach that you strongly desire to accomplish?

To lean into your extra capacity, choose something challenging. While at it, why not shoot for something bigger and better? In my example above, the target was the job, but looking back, I now realize the target was closer than I had realized. I later aimed at targets much larger and farther away, requiring greater risk and far more practice.

You are ready for the next step when you clearly understand what you want.

Arrange (nock the arrow on the bowstring)

With the target or goal clearly in mind, it is time to pick up the bow and arrow and nock the arrow on the bowstring.

If you are unfamiliar with archery, a nock is a plastic or metal piece attached to the end of each arrow. In modern archery, the nock has a notch sized for the diameter of the bowstring so it can attach correctly.

The nock is extremely important as it transfers the energy from the bowstring to the arrow. In the same way, we can find the notch that can propel us toward our target or goal. That notch is usually something you have some competence in and on which you can build or create something.

In my example above, I had to engage my nock — my small amount of management experience — and arrange an interview. Similarly, when starting a business, the nock may be a workplace, acquiring skills, startup capital, inventory, etc., as needed for the final step.

Apply effort (draw the bowstring)

After nocking the arrow on the bowstring, you must draw the bow, meaning expending energy to drive the arrow toward the target.

At work and in life, you must expend concentrated energy on whatever you do if you hope to achieve what you want.

In my example above, I worked long and hard hours, tapping into some of the extra capacity I already possessed. For a business, it can include applying effort in marketing, selling, performing, delivering, etc.

Act (loose the arrow)

Everything up to this point leads to taking action. By determining the initial target you were shooting at, which is hopefully a bit of a stretch for you, you drastically increase your chance of accomplishing something. After all, without a target to aim at, who knows what will result?

“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Zig Ziglar (1926–2012)

My aim in the example above was to move to a bigger job. Did I hit the bullseye? Not necessarily, but I hit the target, which was a great accomplishment for me then! As I continued to choose harder-to-hit targets, my chance of hitting the bullseye increased, but the main point was to hit the target, regardless of whether it was dead center or not!

As you loose (shoot) the arrow by releasing the bowstring, you bring everything into that moment, the moment of truth. Your planning and energy expended ultimately lead you to accomplish something you otherwise may have never hit had you not set the target and grabbed your bow and arrow.

In my example above, hitting the target with the new job was one of many steps. Fortunately, the lesson learned from this final action eventually took me to the top of my profession. Had I not stretched and aimed higher that first time, my career would have turned out far differently!

Final thoughts

Did you notice the common thread that ties the four steps together? Preparation and practice. No one becomes a great archer or achiever without plenty of each!

I hope you see how aiming at something that appears out of reach so you can shoot farther and higher will bring you more in life, whether at work or personal. As you hit each target, you can achieve more and more in the future. And every time you hit the bullseye, so much the better!

When you barely prepare or only practice on easy targets in business and life, your achievements will be proportional and minimal. When you aim farther and higher, preparing and practicing along the way, your achievements will be proportionally greater!

The way to accomplish more is to create more challenging targets to hit, requiring a higher aim. After each accomplishment, why not push yourself to aim higher and farther? The more you do this, the more significant the achievement and the reward!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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