I recently came across the quote below and loved the analogy used. Using analogies are helpful as they draw us an image or a vision of how we see things or could see things. The image or picture helps us understand them more easily and they are more memorable.
“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward.
When life is dragging you back with difficulties,
it means it’s going to launch you into something great.
So just focus, and keep aiming”
The Law of Attraction
For me, this image portrays that of always seeing an opportunity where there is a challenge, seeing every setback as a chance to reconsider how we might do things differently.
Mindset plays a huge part in our lives and can set us off in a positive or negative direction, it can lift us up and drop us down, sometimes both in the same day.
Let’s look at each line separately:
“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward”
Consider the planning that’s gone behind this action, having the right equipment, tools, and skills.
This action is a process that must be undertaken before the arrow can be fired; in life we must do things that help us prepare for the main goal or job we have in front of us. We must prepare ourselves, and what we are doing first so we are in the right emotional and head space to carry out the task we are about to undertake.
“When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you into something great”
Let’s continue with the arrow, if we are using something and it’s dragging or not working properly, we try to fix it, we take time to find out what is wrong, either change the equipment, repair it, get someone to help us fix it if it needs repairing, then we try again, and when we do it works well because we ensured everything was working and in order first, this way we are likely to have the best outcome and ‘hit our target’.
This also of course is where mindset comes in. If we see the drag as a ‘pause’ or ‘stop’ button in our busy lives as a time to reflect, reconsider, refine, refresh, instead of it being an obstacle or barrier put in front of us as a nuisance or a hindrance, or worse still part of a bigger picture of something is always out there to prevent us from achieving syndrome.
“So just focus, and keep aiming”
When we set goals, we need to be focused and keep focused, aiming always for the direction we planned to head in and keep aiming for that.
We need to keep our eye on the vision, our aim, what we want to achieve, the big picture. If we keep focused on that, our aim will always be as great as it can be.
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