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What Are You Aiming At

Posted on 24. Dec, 2009 by Mike Key in Personal Development

In our busy lives we often do not pay much attention to the little daily decisions we make. Few even pay attention to what it is they are aiming at in life. However, for those of you who have set goals and targets, I ask this question: are you aiming at the right thing?

In the 2004 Olympics, a man named Matthew Emmons was on track for the Gold medal in the 50 meter three position rifle final. He was so far ahead in points that all he had to do was get his bullet anywhere inside the inner ring of the target and the gold medal was his.

As he aimed for his final shot, he prepared himself mentally, paused his breathing, took aim and then fired.

The bullet passed right through the bulls eye. However, there was no tone indicating a hit, leaving Emmons in puzzlement.

It took a moment, but Emmons realized he had hit the wrong target. He had dropped from first place and a gold medal to eighth place with no gold medal.

He took the right shot but had hit the wrong target.

Yet this is true with our own lives. Most of us aren’t even worried about what it is we are aiming at. We’re just trying to make it through the day. I’ve been there, going through the daily grind, just aiming for the weekend, hoping to have enough money to survive and maybe even a little extra to play.

In some cases I’ve aimed at the wrong targets. I’ve put all of my best efforts into things that have no  real value or real benefit to my life. I’ve aimed at the wrong girl, the wrong job, the wrong group of people, the wrong goal. In each case, I gave it my best effort.

I wanted to share the story about Matthew Emmons because it speaks volumes about what we aim our sights on in life. Are you sure you have the right target in sight? Or will you find that you took the best shot, only to hit the wrong target?

What are you aiming at?

Tags: dreams, goals, vision