The above title is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. It sounds interesting, and self explanatory; but there is more to it than meets the eye. The first step is to do the thing. If I told you to fix my car, and you said “I don’t know how”, I probably wouldn’t respond “do it first, then you’ll figure it out.” That’s precisely what this quote is saying.
Let’s break it down further, with an example. While I was in Marine boot-camp I had to qualify on the rifle range. Meaning I had to shoot a target from varying distances, and was given a score for how to close to the center of the target the bullet hit. I had to get a minimum score to pass. We had our fist class, and the instructor was explaining how to look through the scope, and how line up the sight (the featured photo is an example of what it looks like). When I first looked through the scope, I could not see the lines described. I thought I was going crazy, or my scope was broken. I was so worried.
After looking at the scope for a while I realized that the moment I looked in, I would catch a glimpse of it, then it would fade away. After practicing this for a full day–looking through the scope then looking away–I could finally see the sight consistently. I ended up getting the highest level qualification (expert).
I don’t know what was wrong with my eyes that I couldn’t see the aiming sight. No one I’ve ever told about this has ever experienced anything like it. The point is, no one told me “if you can’t see the sight, just look away and look back a few times.” I had to learn that on my own, in the moment. There was no way to teach that before I was doing the thing.
I can go on and on with example after example, but the message is pretty simple. No one ever starts with the power to do something. Look at babies, they stand and fall a hundred times before they can walk. They don’t have the power to walk at first, but they do the thing–getting off their butts and move their legs–and then they have the power. Every person you admire, who has accomplished something amazing, started having no idea how to do whatever it is they accomplished. It’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when Michael Jordan didn’t know how to dribble a basketball.
So, get out there, and do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. I just started this blog. I have no idea how to blog, or if I will even be good at it, but I definitely won’t if I don’t try.
(Lastly, I apologize to anyone who knows military/marksmanship jargon; I used scope and sight instead of optic/bullet drop compensator/reticle to make it more understandable for people who don’t know the jargon)
Insights That Ignite 