It’s that time of year. When people are making New Year’s Resolutions and building their aspirations for the coming 12 months. Right after hunting season and the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it feels like the right time for a fresh start. I get it, and I’m no exception. I’ve got aspirations of my own, and because this is my blog, I’m going to share some thoughts I’ve had on the New Year and the goals I have in my sights.
That’s right. I haven’t been too chatty about this, but for the last few years, I’ve been working on another book. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, but I feel like I can finally see the finish line up ahead. So, I’ve been taking some time each day, whether it’s 20 minutes or an hour, to tap away at it. Just like a big hike, this is a one-step-at-a-time process, and soon I’ll reach my destination. I’m super proud of how this has turned out and really hope it serves a healthy dose of value to bowhunters, and newer bowhunters especially. That’s all I’ll say about that. = )
If you wanna check out my current book, it’s called Becoming a Backpack Hunter: A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting the Backcountry.
This may sound funny coming from me, a full-time freelance writer, but I don’t read much. It’s not that I don’t want to either. It’s just because I feel like I have no time. Now, you and I both know that is just an excuse, which brings me here. I’ve got a stack of books that stares at me every day in my living room. Books that I really want to read, but always seem to get caught up doing other things. Just like taking the time to write my own book, I have been trying these past few weeks to take the time to crush a chapter here and there. It keeps my brain moving and it’s refreshing reading something other than my own work. And some books are uber inspirational. The one I’m working on right now is The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. What a breath of fresh air in the sedentary lives that we know so well these days.
Hunting is something that I am immensely passionate about of course. With that said, since the beginning, I have always had this nagging feeling inside. This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes I stress out about filling my tags. It’s usually for personal reasons, but it happens and I’m not a fan. Sometimes it takes me out of the moment too. It pulls me from being present in the very moments I long to embrace. I’ve even felt pressure to use a rifle rather than a bow on certain hunts to try and secure success. I hate it and I think I’ve had enough. This year I have some hunts planned in a way that I have always wanted to experience. But, because of the lofty goals that they are, I’ve always walked in a different direction. What I am coming to realize is that “success” will come, it always does. But there are different levels to that as well. Doing a certain hunt the way I have always envisioned doing it is literally putting myself inside one of my own dreams. That in itself is a success and an animal would be a cherry on top.
Now, I’m not a senior by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not getting any younger. The older I get the more cognizant I become about my physical and mental well-being though. I think the two play hand in hand. On the physical side of things though, maintaining my fitness focusing on avoiding injury, and increasing my overall durability, if that makes sense, is at the forefront of my mind. My training for backcountry hunting has largely the last few years just been about weighted pack hikes and trail running. I love both of those things, and I’ll continue to do them. With that said, I’m going to start incorporating more strength training into my routine. Over the past few years, I have experienced minor injuries here and there from things like drawing my bow back. I fully believe that is because of my lack of strength training. Aside from that, I want to be able to thrive on my backpack hunts for as long as I can. It scares the shit out of me thinking about a day when I can’t go on these adventures.
I could go on and on with goals whether they are personal or business-related. I’ve never been one to have the ability to look at 40 goals at once and stomp them. It comes down to the hiking analogy I brought up earlier. One step at a time. Looking at something as a whole tends to be overwhelming. This is me taking one step at a time and I wish you the best of luck in each one of your steps throughout this year. Let’s make it a good’n!
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