Archery therapy
Amber Schippers, 13 october 2023
At my lowest
In 2019 and 2020 I have been on my lowest. The pressure the world put on me when I started University and more importantly the pressure I put on myself caused me avoid reality by daydreaming all day, which caused apathy towards real life and caused me to drop out of University. For some time I couldn’t find joy from the real world. Luckily, partly because of the support of my family, I slowly learned to love the world again. During that time my mother encouraged me to practice a sport so I would come out of my shell and meet new people.
Archery
Once I realized there was an archery club in my city I quickly signed up. Archery has for long been a part of my daydreams because I’ve always thought it looked cool. Once I started the training there I realized the sport was not as easy as I thought. I also learned that focus was a big part of archery. I had learned that archers need to focus on both their target and their own body. Every change in the position of your body can affect where the arrow will go and if the arrow flies in a straight line. In a way, I found archery to be similar to mindfulness.
Benefits of archery
Initially, it was hard to focus doing practice, since every frustration or distraction caused me to daydream. Lately I have noticed I am reaping the benefits of practicing archery. Firstly, I noticed I was more aware of my body and can focus well on the target. I hardly got distracted during aiming. Other benefits of archery are the improvements in patience, relaxation and self-confidence (Vasquez, 2017). I realized that practicing week after week helped me accept that I don’t have to be perfect and that I can slowly learn and improve. This gave me patience towards the world, and most importantly, towards myself. My fear of failure decreased. I didn’t have to be so self-critical all the time! The slow but steady progress grew my self-confidence. I have noticed that the self-confidence I have gained has made me enjoy life a lot more as well.
Conclusion
I can now say that I am more than glad that I have decided to practice archery and I won’t stop soon. Archery is a sport I can definitely recommend people who struggle with daydreaming to avoid the real world. Another way to lessen your interfering daydreaming is by practicing mindfulness. To learn more about mindfulness, go to the mindfulness page on this website.
For other ways to help you focus, feel free to check out our excersises:
Sources:
Vasquez, A. (2017, 2 mei). 8 health benefits of archery. Worldarchery. Geraadpleegd op 4 oktober 2023, van https://www.worldarchery.sport/news/147916/8-health-benefits-archery