What Is Your Trajectory?

Trajectory – a path, a progression, a line of development – to take something in a particular direction – to take you somewhere. And where are you headed in life?

Let’s look at archery as a model. Trajectory is what takes the arrow from the bow to the target. This happens via a transfer of potential energy [drawing back the string] to kinetic energy [release of the arrow]. Good archers make it look easy, but there are many factors that all work together to achieve the goal.

Archery has a long-standing place in human history, going back 20,000 years, and some research indicates 70,000 years.

From hunting and warfare to competitive sports and film – who could forget Legolas or Katniss with their mastery of the bow and arrow? – we are quite familiar with the form.

What does this have to do with my life, you ask. Archery demonstrates the value of slight adjustments over a distance or time – and these apply for better or worse.

For example, if you find that you’re gaining 5 pounds a year, that’s 50 pounds in 10 years, and you could end up with high blood pressure.

If you start walking 10 minutes a day and increase that by 10 minutes a

month, you’ll be at an hour in only 6 months.

When you start reading books for 30 minutes a day, you can get through about 30 books in a year, depending on your reading speed, of course – but think how much you could learn in that time.

When you increase the quantity of healthy foods and decrease the volume of unhealthy foods, you will be on a stronger path.

I invite you to think about your trajectory in life based on your current choices and habits. Are you headed on a positive arc toward strength and health? Or is your arrow going to hit the ground prematurely?

Leonardo da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. He was right. Simplicity and consistency win the day every time.

Minor corrections in the right direction will have a long-term positive effect on your well-being and your quality of life.

So cut back on that coffee and increase your water intake – seek out organic produce and grass-fed protein – spend time in nature and heal your soul – skip that glass of wine and find a terrific book.

The choices are yours to make – good ones or bad ones will magnify the results over time.

Author Paulo Coelho is an archer, and he uses archery as a form of active meditation to clear his mind. He said when I do archery, I am totally there with my bow, my target, my arrow, and I don’t think; I am in communion with the universe.

Do you need to take up archery to understand any of this? No. Yet we can learn much from archery as it relates to focus and intention, and the impact of small improvements to create a long-term positive effect.

The whistle is sounding.