What's your goal?

It's at this time of year that people tend to re-assess the direction they're going in and set themselves new goals to strive for over the next twelve months. I've certainly got a few of these that I'm considering at present. One of the things you need to remember when sorting out what you want to achieve in life is to make the goals you are aiming at achievable. It's best to start small and work your way towards something than aim too high and get despondent when you can't attain the virtually impossible heights you have set yourself to climb. This is why many people fail when trying to lose weight or quit smoking. Just suddenly stopping something is very difficult, so maybe it's better to cut down to start off with until you naturally stop. Also, if you're learning something new, don't expect to become an expert overnight, some things can take a lifetime to develop. At the moment I am developing my knowledge of the art of Japanese Calligraphy. Trouble is, the more I study it the more I realise I have a huge amount to learn! I'm not even good enough to be called bad yet! So I have set myself a goal to practice the simple strokes repeatedly. It may not be very excting but it's a start...

So in fencing terms, if you're struggling with a particular technique don't expect it to happen naturally just because you've set yourself a goal; start by trying to get it right once out of five or three times out of ten. Sometimes just trying to actually do it is a pretty good achievement!

Whatever your goal in 2007 I wish you well with it, so to all the readers of this blog, Happy New Year, may it be a successful and prosperous one!