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One arrow does not bring down two birds. Turkish proverb

In this fast paced world we are prone to be caught up in the mad race to grab that elusive pot of gold. In this process we are bound to force the pace, press the accelerator and possibly drive a little recklessly. That is when we also get the bright idea that we can possibly increase our odds by attempting to bring down two birds with one arrow; a task that is not just superhuman but unrealistic.

When we set up goals that are unrealistic we end up wasting a lot of energy, squandering our resources and ending up frustrated. Many a time our goals are not determined by our ability or interests but are dictates of family hopes, societal approval and convention.  This leads to a peculiar problem where you pursue something half heartedly, keep struggling to cope up and then attempt to make up by a zealous pursuit of another objective. Imagine you studying engineering but your passion is acting. You attempt to do both, the former to make others happy the later for your own self gratification. While you may barely clear the exams you might end up winning some honors in the acting field but when you have to make a career choice you are back in square one and the acting honors suddenly look worthless.

A more common problem is not having any goals and drifting along in life and imagining that whatever you do is taking you closer to your undefined goal. This in effect implies that your effort becomes the arrow and every alternate task you take up becomes a bird to be ambushed. When you realize that you are not being rewarded for your efforts, it dawns on you that no one really cares for your efforts but all of them are focused on what you have achieved. You might become wiser  and more realistic and that si when you decide to outline the goal for yourself. With the goal in front of you, all your efforts, expertise and energy are focused on achieving that one goal which will give you the pot of gold in the form of recognition, rewards and satisfaction.

There are some skeptics who will say that it is possible to kill two birds with one stone.  True but then that would be exception rather than the norm and is often a byproduct of pursuing an original goal. E.g. You score vital runs to help your team win a cricket match and in the process also win the man of the match. The later must never have been your original goal but you got lucky on that day.

Remember: “First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”  Aristotle

Try these:

  1. Play a game of Chinese whispers with two or more teams, each having at least 8 members. Put the teams into a competitive mode against each other with the first team to retell the original story/ joke correctly being the winner. Most times, none of them will tell the story / joke perfectly simply because they are pursuing the twin goals of understanding and winning both at the same time.
  2. Plan a day long outdoor work schedule like shopping, paying some bills, meeting a sick friend in hospital, dropping of some packages / invitations etc. If you schedule your visits right all tasks must be accomplished on time. Do you think you can achieve perfection or will external factors disrupt your schedule? How will you react if just one of your original plans is done and the rest remain pending.

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com

You are also invited to visit our WEEKLY Inspirational and Motivational Blog www.poweract.blogspot.com

Bobby Jacob

Bobby Jacob

‘ He hopes to have a positive influence on his readers through his blog posts’

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This Post Has 0 Comments

  1. Rajesh K R

    Good to focus one by one rather than have none.

    Very Good Article

    Regards
    K.R. Rajesh

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