As an archer, the target always looks small. Hitting the centre is a real challenge — and consistently hitting it is what proves how good you are.

But when you’re just starting out, the goal is simply to hit the target –> anywhere.

My first session back in Monaco in 2008 was far from beautiful. In fact, it was probably dangerous. The floor, the ceiling, and the area behind the shooting line, all received arrows that were never meant for them. Not a single arrow hit the target. Yet I loved it. Deep down, I knew that if I kept showing up, I would get better.

Can the same thing apply to our bigger life challenges? Absolutely.

We rarely hit the bullseye right away. There’s so much to learn, and it’s completely normal that it takes time, energy, and a lot of misses to start getting anywhere close to looking elegant while kicking a little ass.

So the real question becomes: How can we make that awkward learning process feel better while we build expertise, consistency, and confidence?

The Solution: Make today’s target bigger.

Instead of aiming at that tiny, distant final gold, that’s currently beyond your skills, resources, and energy — zoom in on a much bigger, closer target that you can hit right now.

For example:

• The ambitious goal of running the Tokyo Marathon next year gets hidden behind today’s very achievable target — a 20-minute walk outside.
• The dream of publishing a book gets set aside in favour of writing one quick blog post while you enjoy your morning coffee.
• The vision of a perfectly colour-coordinated, all-natural capsule wardrobe gets replaced by choosing one outfit that feels good enough and is ready to wear today.

All of our big projects matter. They’re important to us. But some days, the rest of the world is pushing back so hard in the wrong direction that maintaining focus on the faraway goal is simply impossible. That record-breaking final result is often too far away to give us any sense of success in the present moment.

There is, however, real joy and satisfaction available when we aim a little closer, and on a bigger target using the abilities we have today.

Aiming big isn’t something you do later or when everything feels ready. It’s what you focus on right now.

Instead of measuring yourself against some future metric or dreamy success story, change your definition of success. Do one thing using the biggest target you need in order to register a clear “hit” today.

The messiness of today’s actions that zig-zag towards the target, are so much better than our perfectionistic scrolling ass stuck on the couch.

So… whatever you can do, do it!

You can be proud of doing anything when it is good enough to hit the target of today.