Life and human nature are intriguing when you take a closer look at things. What motivates living things? What do they aim for? Why do they do what they regularly do? The answer to these may vary however, they all involve Targets. A target, according to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary is “a result that you try to achieve.” The second definition is “an object, a person, or a place that people aim at when attacking.” They are both related to the topic. We all have targets. This post is to emphasize how targets are paramount/key/important.
The two definitions can be used to explain why targets are key. The first involves aims, goals, aspirations, dreams, visions, etc. I’ll dive into that shortly. The second definition is more short term and physical such as shooting targets, weight lifting, darts, sports goals/baskets, etc. I will dive into this as well. These two types I’ll name “Category vision” and “Category shooter”
Category Vision
You and I both have things we want we want to achieve. Targets help us remain focused on our long-term goals. They help motivate us because it makes it easier to gauge our progress in the said objective. In video games, for example, every mission has a set of objectives that you must fulfill to complete the mission. The more of them you do, the more you’re closer to finishing the mission and the game as a whole. Setting a target serves as a reminder that you have a pending action. That is why in meetings in corporate environments, minutes are recorded and actions promised are written down. This reminder tells us what is most important.
If on the other hand, you live life as the wind blows without setting targets for yourself then you are likely to waste time doing many unproductive things meanwhile in your mind you may think that you’re a Jack of All Trades. You’re not actually. Jack of all trades set targets for each trade and what to do to gain more experience in them. You’re freestyling through life. Compare freestyles from rappers/musicians to their carefully written songs. There’s a big difference. That’s the difference between setting targets for yourself and not doing so.
Category Shooter
This category is more instant than the other. Imagine you’re jumping rope. When you set a target, let’s say 100 skips every morning, even though it gets harder while you’re in the 80’s you know that you have a few more to do to achieve that target. It motivates you to keep going because that is how humans are conditioned. We tend to push harder when there is a goal in sight. All sports have targets of some sort. Football/Soccer has a goal post and some of the most popular stats are goals and shots on target. The good teams set up to create opportunities that lead to more shots on target. The weaker sides, on the other hand, set up to prevent these shots from getting to their goal. Boxing the same, a boxer would want to hit the target, who is his or her opponent. Shooting ranges are the clearest example. Can you imagine how annoying shooting would be if there were no targets to shoot at? Basketball the same. All these have physical targets. Without them present, these sports wouldn’t exist, to be honest. Imagine playing football without a goal post, basketball without a rim, golf without a hole, etc. There would have been absolutely no point. These examples are poetic to me as they clearly show how targets are paramount.
In Conclusion, targets are key to every living thing. Even animals set targets. You see dogs play with balls. The same way lions hunt their target, birds hunt their prey, etc. It helps us zoom in through the noise from the outer world to help us achieve our goals, either short-term or long-term.
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