Monday Motivation: Pierce Your Fear, Experience Awe

Monday Motivation, Inspiration, Wisdom for Women, Women in Sports, Women Entrepreneurs

Like Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games, my arrow sprung forward from the bow hitting the target on the first shot. Not quite as fast as her in reloading the second arrow by a long shot, the next one was carefully placed in the notch of the arrow rest, used to launch the projectile. Pulling back the mechanical release, I leaned my cheek into the peep sight looking at the green, yellow, and red pinpoints to line up my shot with the target circle. Release! A distant soft boom could be heard. Bullseye again.

One of the fascinating parts of trying new sports is not only the thrill of the experience of learning something novel, but also the new terminology of the techniques, equipment, and sport itself. I never knew what a “nock” was until I had to put the arrow’s nock (a plastic piece at the end of it) into the bow to help it attach to the bow string. Go figure, I only knew the word “knock” before yesterday.

Knowing most women have weaker back and arm muscles than men, I also assumed pulling back bow strings would be either difficult or painful, but thanks to the fact I was using my son’s compound bow, that consists of a levering system using cables and cams to bend the bow limbs and transfer the energy during the shot, it was easier to pull and hold. Like anything new, you needed to try it a few times to understand the mechanics.

Thrilled with my ability to shoot and hit the target spot from 25’, I climbed a tall ladder to a platform to attempt a 50’ shot. If I was to join my husband deer hunting this year again, I’ve heard bow hunting season is much warmer and beautiful, a girl hunter’s dream. Honestly, he didn’t think I could hit the spot, but again like Katniss, my arrow shot through the air perfectly hitting the bullseye. I might have found my new sport, I announced.

If I could impart any wisdom from my archery experience with you, it’s that trying anything new is exhilarating, slightly intimidating, and educational. Not all sports are alike so trying different ones has taught me instantly what I would try again once, or in the case of archery, try more often, adding it to my sports regimen. Biking doesn’t tone upper arm and back strength but archery does and it puts you in the beautiful elements of nature.

Second, pushing past intimidation at any level of life, business, and sports, makes us more courageous in some small way. Intimidation is both fear and awe so you must pierce the fear to experience the awe, just like an arrow leaving the comfort of its nock resting place to fly through the air into an unknown area feet away.  I can’t tell you what an arrow experiences in its flight, but I can attest to the thrill of letting one go now and I highly recommend the precision, strength, and excitement surrounding it.