Archery – the art, sport, practice or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. Whether it’s for show in competition, hunting or simply the analogy of an arrow and a target, there’s something magnificent built into the simplicity of the tools. Reading Matthew McConaughey’s book “Greenlights,” I came across this quote, “the arrow doesn’t seek the target, the target draws the arrow.”
Now by any stretch of the imagination, the art of the bow and arrow would indicate that the arrow must seek the target when released by the archer. McConaughey’s quote stirred something in me that I believe we all need to consider. If the target isn’t our desired end goal, is there any point to shooting the arrow?
Think relationships. We’ve all been at a point in life, myself included, where we wanted something or someone. We pursue and shoot our arrows blindly in pursuit of something we thought would be good or make us feel whole. But then, someone comes along and changes the narrative and makes us realize that the target we were seeking isn’t what we were pursuing. Maybe it’s a job. You’re going through the day to day of work, not really feeling fulfilled when someone approaches you with a new opportunity, unexpected but exactly what you were looking for to fulfill that career desire. A great example of this is the process of college football players deciding to forgo a season or two of eligibility in an attempt to enter the NFL draft. For some, it’s the exact next step that needs to be taken. For others, the external voices pushing them to chase money, chase fame, etc. may actually be pushing them to make the wrong decision. For that player the target they’re aiming at may be one of personal gain and desire instead of the true target, whereas for others the NFL is the perfect next step and the true target drawing them in.
So, in following the theme of “New Year, Better Me” and “Aim Your Ship,” I wanted to keep January focused on setting the goal and target for the year. Establishing where it is we want to go.
Now this may be a different approach than we are used to, especially in a society where we are taught – “if you want something, go take it.” But as the English Proverb says, “good things come to those who wait.” I believe we need to lean on this more and rely on our faith, our core, our base to clearly see the target as we point out rudder and aim the ship in the direction we’re being drawn to. When we force things and begin to take control of God’s plan for our future it hinders our vision. Instead of sitting back and allowing our plan to unfold in front of us, we start to target things for personal gain or selfish desire. The Bible says in Lamentations 3:25-27, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.”
When I read this, I believe this is saying that if we aim our ship in the direction of the Lord and his calling for our lives, then we will have the vision to see the target that is drawing us in. We will be in position to take the shot. You see, the target can’t draw the arrow if the archer doesn’t have vision and isn’t in position to take the shot. That’s the beauty of it. We as humans have free will. We can shoot our arrows at whatever we want, but when we wait for the target to draw us in then we can fully reap the reward of our arrow reaching the target. We must prepare for the target in advance. As the definition of archery says, it’s the art of practice, sport, skill…And last I checked, none of those are possible without preparation.
So, we must wait. Use the tools we’ve developed from the base we built, the core we established and the direction we aim our ship to position ourselves to take the shot. But be patient and trust the Lord will make the target clear. This will create space for us to visualize the target drawing us in and give us the discernment that it’s not for personal gain or selfish desire and that it’s what we are called to pursue. Be encouraged that as the archer, you are in control. You have the tools and resources and you have the strength. After all, in order to set sail and aim the ship, there must be a target in sight! If we blindly shoot our arrows, we are potentially limiting our opportunities and we don’t want to run out of arrows in the quiver.
WORKOUT
Archery takes skill, preparation, and time to develop a good shot. And as we discussed, it’s about letting the target draw us in, not us pursuing the target. For the workout this week, we will continue to focus on strengthening our base. This way we can continue to grow in the process of positioning ourselves for physical success as well as mental success.
Use this time to sharpen your arrows, so that when your fitness target draws you in, you’re ready to take the shot!
Go through each block 3x. Perform 40sec of exercise to 20sec of rest. Take a 30sec break after each block is complete.
Warm-up
Block 1:
1. Split Squats – R leg forward
2. Split Squats – L leg forward
3. Frog Jump forward, back pedal back to starting position
4. Spiderman Pushups
Block 2:
1. Burpees (no jump)
2. Alternating Leg Kick Thrus (from bear position – kick right left thru left side, rotating body at the same time)
3. Tricep Dips)
4. Glute Bridge
Block 3:
1. Leg Raises (both legs)
2 .Side Crunch – R side
3. Side Crunch – L side
4. Russian Twist
Cool Down
Hammer and Anvil 