In shooting, as with most things in life, hitting the target matters. Countless hours are spent by marksmen learning the techniques to hit exactly what they aim at every time. What surprises me the most, is how even a small almost non existent hesitation, or jerk can completely throw off the trajectory of the projectile. In shooting we use terms like heeling, thumbing, lobstering and dipping to refer to some of these small movements that can misalign our shot.

In Pistol Shooting:

Dipping: Lowering the barrel to absorb anticipation of the recoil, universally causing shots to strike low.

Heeling: Pushing the butt of the gun forward with the heel of your shooting hand in anticipation of recoil, causing shots to go high and right.

Thumbing: Pushing the side of the gun to the right with your shooting thumb, shifting the muzzle off target and causing horizontal shots striking to the right.

Lobstering: Gripping the gun continuously tighter while pulling the trigger, which tends to snatch the muzzle low and to the right as the shot breaks.

NRA Family +1

Each of these errors are small, easily done movements that can keep someone from hitting what they aim at. Even if you have the best eye for the target, if you can’t get your hands and breathing to work with that vision you will not be successful. The same can be said for other goals we have in life. We may want to lose weight, but the small little snacks we indulge in here or there add up and unfortunately, we miss our goal. Most of us have seen the exercise written on a white or chalkboard where an instructor draws a point on the board, then he or she put another point somewhere else on the board. There is a direct straight line that will travel from one point to the other, but if the instructor loses sight of the endpoint and begins his line even a fraction off that direct line, over distance, the new straight line veers far from the end point goal.

What does this mean? In shooting it means that practicing proper techniques matter. With time these proper techniques become habitual and natural. Our capacity for consistent accuracy increases and we become marksmen. In life, I think it means that small things matter; that maybe everyday habits and routines are more influential to our overall success than big changes that we might enact that don’t become part of our daily life. The habit of drinking a full glass of water before meals as a healthy change, for example, is often more successful and sustainable perhaps then the big goal of drinking that gallon of water on day one. Keeping our target always insight and maintaining regular small habits may be one of those secrets to success we don’t emphasize enough.