Archery – Our Mirror

We're all connected by this one thing, no matter how different we are. This one pillar that carries all the others. The one foundation that laid for a hobby that is, in truth, so much more than that. At this point, what mattered to us wasn't how good or bad we were at it, but rather how it made us feel. We were completely open to new things and proud of every little development. We had an idea in our heads and a feeling in our hearts. Didn't we already feel like we'd arrived just because we set out to learn something new?

We all strive for greater perfection, and there's nothing wrong with that. But it's all too easy to lose sight of the most important thing: the true reason why we fell in love with archery. Everything we do, we ultimately do for a feeling, and when we lose that feeling over time, we start searching for the reason. We search with our heads for what is missing in our hearts. Over time, we've learned that we feel better when we shoot better, and so we focus even more on correcting our mistakes. But what if we first concentrated on feeling better? What would that mean for our performance?

Would that have an impact? And above all, what exactly is the use to us of investing time in something we don't enjoy? Maybe for a brief moment of validation? It's like a long-term relationship: in the beginning you love everything, but over time you take it for granted and only see the flaws. Could it be that your focus has shifted? It's up to us to remember that feeling, again and again. It's our foundation; everything else has arisen from it and is what gives the whole thing meaning. If we open ourselves up to it, we not only learn to improve our shooting, but more importantly, we also learn something about ourselves.

We not only influence where our arrow flies. Where it flies and how we deal with it also influence us as people.