What room are you in?

Everyone has one of those days where nothing can go right and everything just seems to fall apart.  Whether it be losing your rangefinder or cow call up on the mountain or bombing a test, sometimes the smallest things can send you into a down spiral for the day.  It’s funny how some of these obstacles we face seem so minuscule after that fact.  We ask ourselves how stupid could I of been to stress out about that small hiccup and why did I respond so negatively to it.  I see it as a matter of perspective.  Whatever position you are in today, somebody wants to be there.  Someone wants to have a job, skill, hobby that you currently have, and someone would do anything to obtain one of those things no matter what it would cost to them.   Say I have a bad test one day here at A&M and start to question if I should just drop out or not.  Someone else at that same moment is hoping for just a chance to get into this school to have the same problems that I am going through.  Some of the common things that I do seem like extraordinary things to other people, and somebody’s natural talents and skills seem extraordinary to me.  The way we treat the ordinary things in our life immolates how we will handle things that we think are extraordinary.

Another thing that I am a firm believer on is that you can tell the true character of a man by throwing him into conflict and asking him to humble himself and teach others.  It’s easy to stand up and preach about whatever you like to talk about when you have smooth sailing, but how do you respond when you are just having an awful day, and somebody comes up and asks you for advice?  Are you going to give them a valid response or will you just give a half-hearted answer and soak in the fact that you think you are a loser?  Just like how someone wants what you have, someone is always watching your every move.  Everyone hates losing, and if you hate losing you aren’t going to be happy after the fact.  But you have to make sure your actions don’t compromise all of the work that has gotten you to that point.

In this age of social media and keyboard warriors (someone who talks a big game on the internet but can’t back it up in the real world), every little action a person does can be seen by a large crowd of people.  Although most of us don’t have cameras following us around every second of the day, we do have real life people who are observant and watch.  I didn’t have the best shooting day at an archery event and couldn’t for the life of me calm down and put the arrow where it was supposed to go.  A family from India walked by with a young boy.  The father motioned that his son wanted a picture with me and the bow.  I’m sure I looked about as American as you can get with a cutoff shirt, big bow, and a backpack full of arrows.  I gave the kid my bow and nocked an arrow so that he could hold it for the picture.  He then wanted to watch me shoot a couple of times.  This showed me that no matter how rough a day I am having, I can still be a huge part of someone else’s.

A matter of perspective is usually defined as seeing the world as half empty or half full.  That’s great, and all but I think it is kind of cheesy.  A matter of perspective to me is defined by if I am the greatest person in the room or not.  If I am, I am in the wrong room.  There is always something more you can learn, and if you consider yourself the best at something then you are doing nothing at all to help yourself.  Leave that argument up to your peers.  You can learn something from anything.  A thought, a baby, an elder, or even a mountain.  There are so many lessons to be learned if we can just humble ourselves enough to listen to them. So, our perspective on life should be that we must always be the second smartest, greatest, etc. guy in the room.  No matter how great our accomplishments will ever be, there will always be a new lesson to be taught.  It’s up to you to decide which room you will be in and listen.

Note on the top picture: I have always found the sight of a hunting camp to be comforting. Whether it be a small one man tent on top of a cold mountain, or a hunting cabin back on the family ranch, so many conversations and memories are made in these places.  Stories of past success and the big buck that just got away are ones that I will never forget.  These places are filled with dirt, sweat, good food(under the circumstances), and sometimes tears. These are places where boys turn into men and life lessons are taught and learned. Finding a place and a group of guys to be around can truly change your life. I would say that if you have found a place like this, you have found the right room.