A few weekends ago I shot a 7 point buck.  Yes, I hunt.  Something that many of you probably didn’t know about me.  As far as shooting a deer, I have been on a dry streak and honestly, this was the first deer I had shot in more than 10 years.  

This blog isn’t about hunting.  Those of you who might be reading and thinking about stopping before I retell the story of Bambi (the hunter in the woods played by me) can rest assured that my words will not be taking us that direction.  

Minutes before I pulled the trigger my mind raced with thoughts of doubt.  As I watched the deer though the scope, I was already crafting the story in my head on what to tell my friends and family about the deer I just missed.  I was actually creating  excuses before I pulled the trigger.  Expecting to miss the deer, I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger and….you know the rest.  

The years of going hunting, not seeing or shooting anything…or even the times I shot and ended up missing- had conditioned me to expect failure.  Many people struggle with this same feeling based on years of disappointment and “missing”.  You have to stop that.  

Through a streak of failure, you get conditioned and start to expect to lose.  You gain a defeatist attitude, embrace the negative and rely on good excuses or your ability to spin the story one way or another so that nobody really knows how bad you “missed”.  Depending on the person, you could never ask the girl out because you are used to getting shut down or never try to grow your career status because you’ve been passed up for promotion once or twice before.   Regardless of your situation, you cannot allow the past to derail your future.  You need to learn from history, correct mistakes and possible reevaluate your pickup lines.    

In order to move forward, you have to break the cycle at some point.  Something different needs to happen if you are ever going to change your current status.  Do something different. Believe, each time, that THIS is the time you are going to change your direction.  You are going to miss a few more times perhaps, but belief is necessary in order to succeed.  

Take a deep breath.  Look at the future through the scope and pull the trigger with confidence.  Nobody ever wins in the game of life without taking the shot.  

#hunting #bambi #dating #failure #success #winning #pickuplines #taketheshot