Hello, fellow.
Two things are extremely important if you wanna become a good professional, in any field. (That includes yours as well, so read on! 😀)
1 – The first thing is focus.
2 – The second thing is the ability to stay in a feedback loop. And this comes to my mind every time when I’m on an archery field, or in this case, a 3D Parcours.
You heard of those if you are on social media, but do you actually “focus” on focusing on a daily basis? Are you running a constant feedback loop for yourself?
Anyway, it makes sense to read on:
Why I Like Archery as a Sport
The reason I like it as a sport is exactly that. It’s a sport, and since I’m mostly a software development entrepreneur, I don’t do much sport while I’m at work. Still, I need to, because there is no other activity I can personally do that offers that level of precision in focus.
Archery forces you to be precise about what you do, when you aim, when you release, when you plan your shot, and what you’re doing with your body. And then of course you get the outcome.
Nothing is more frustrating than when you mess up a shot, lose your arrow in the forest, and realize it was because your mind was off and not on point.
Regret .. Reflect .. Accept .. Adapt …
Let’s get into that stuff:
The Loop: Commit, Execute, Adapt
You commit to a shot, you plan something, you execute, then you realize what actually happened, and then you adapt. If I mess up, I think about what I have done wrong at this position, from that angle, with that arrow type, at that distance. Was my finger not in the correct position? Was the anchor off? Did I rush? Then I adapt for the next shot as long as it works.
This is what makes you better every time you release an arrow, because you’re doing two things at once:
* Correct what you’ve done wrong (fast, practical, no drama)
* Remember what you’ve done right (so you can repeat it on purpose)
That’s also why, when I miss a shot, I take a follow-up shot, and I take a follow-up shot again, and then it’s over. But when I hit, I memorize that and go for the next target. There are enough targets. I want my brain to remember what works and what doesn’t, and that is simply a practice.
In both failure and success, I remember intentionally what worked and what did not.
Bragging and Regretting
A lot of archers do this; I’ve adopted it and use it in real life, too. I call it bragging and regretting.
* Regret is short-term. I regret what I just did wrong right now because I can do it better.
* Then regret is over. I accept it, adapt, correct, execute again, and see what happens.
* Bragging is pattern storage. When I hit, I say: This is done right, remember that one.
Important: Don’t brag or regret any longer; that is necessary. That’s to handle your short-term feelings, which are connected to yours. It’s a part of my stoic practice to let these emotions come up and instantly control them.
NEVER drive home and tell yourself:
* “I messed up so many shots, what a bad, I hate my life” (That’s nonsense)
* “Tell everybody how great of an archer you are” (Which you aren’t in relation to others)
It’s only about yourself, your progress, and your learning.
Why Traditional Gear Matters
A personal point: But after years on the range at 30+ years of coding, 18+years of entrepreneurship, I concluded:
It helps that this is a traditional bow. No optics, no helping devices.
If you want to do something, you need to do it all by yourself.
You have a very basic rest with a little bit of fur on it, and that’s it. This is what I really like. It’s also why I never bought a compound bow or an Olympic bow. I wanted it that way.
Because it puts you into situations that are a little bit like the entrepreneurial situation, it’s not standardized. It’s not a specific range, a specific angle, a specific weather condition.
Probably that’s why I like being in the more chaotic startup space than in corporate. 😀
Real Conditions, Real Adaptation
It is very cold right now, around minus five degrees. It’s very slippery. My fingers are getting chilly, and at some point you need to adapt to those things. That is not how you shoot indoors, or how you shoot in an indoor competition.
Even my nocks flew off today. In summer, it works very well with those, now they all flew off while I was shooting. Some I wasn’t able to find again, so I had to shoot with other arrows. I have two types of arrows with me right now, and the entire range I’m shooting with two arrows that are not meant to be shot with that bow. A similar kind of bow, but not the same, different draw weight. That means I need to adapt again.
So I’m doing the entire processing in real time:
* Use what I know from the past
* Apply it to different arrows, different bow behavior
* Under colder conditions than usual
* On a field, I’m not very often on
* Heavy, steep terrain; before most shots, I was climbing an icy hill.
All these things together make you a better shooter over time because you need to constantly reflect, adapt to what you have just done, and stay in focus.
The Same Thing in Software and Entrepreneurship
If you don’t have those two abilities, you cannot really execute. And that is the very same thing as a software developer and entrepreneur, a tech entrepreneur. You don’t know what happens. The environment is different every time. The conditions are different every time, and you need to adapt.
You don’t know:
* What clients will say
* What users will say
* How the market responds
* If employees stay with you, and who you’ll get next
* What issues newer tech will bring
And the feedback loops can be very fast there as well. I need to focus on something one day, focus only on these signals, then move on. But while you do that, you need to become better every time. Otherwise, you cannot keep up.
The fear of not being able to keep up has been and continues to be driving me. A reason I became stoic is that I can control the emotions that come with it. Is it necessary to have this drive? Yes.
If you try to tell me that drive isn’t necessary, you are most likely not an entrepreneur 😀 That’s fine, it’s a particular thing to do and get along with. I would be a horrible employee these days, I can tell.
Do Something That Trains This
That’s what I wanted to tell you today, because I think it’s a helpful metaphor. And I’d recommend you do something like that as well. It must not be archery. People do boxing; they do all sorts of sports where you need focus, execution, reflection, adaptation, and improvement.
Because when you do something while you’re walking, while you’re breathing, while your heart is pumping a little bit, you do it more intensely and you learn more. There’s evidence for that too. We know better when we move, and at best, when we’re outside.
Not much sunshine today, but I’m outside, and I can already say: it works pretty well.
I wish you a great day. I’ll continue now because my butt is freezing here on that bench.
See you next time. Goodbye.
—Adrian
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.adrianstanek.dev/subscribe
South Africa