Short Of The Mark

Short Of The Mark

Any observer of sports today, since it's so easy to engulf oneself in viewing a sports show on television any day at any time, has to have had similar feelings to mine. I've come to the conclusion that any ball, except maybe a baseball, left short of its sought  distance when launched has little chance to fulfill its intended purpose of a successful advance or creating a score. A basketball shot short of the rim, a golf putt short of the hole, a field goal attempt short of the goal post cross bar; you get the idea, you can think of many more illustrations.

Realizing this fact - efforts left short of their mark have zero chance of success - a perceptive coach, you would think, should urge his players to always err on the side of long when practicing.  A golfer putting would always practice perceiving the ball reaching the cup but if off line passing the cup just a short distance. A basketball coach would press his players to always shoot over the front of the rim of the basket. Long being not wrong, if long, it at least has a chance to succeed, if short, none at all.

Effort works in similar ways. When little extended, chance is success stymied, but when extra effort is given out, success has a real chance to succeed. Intention doesn't cut it, action does. Our World moves ahead because some people are not short on effort. They reach beyond, they pull up from inside themselves an extra measure of effort which, because it does not come up short, gains the results desired.

Ronald C. Downie