My son made me watch Viking movies. The gory fight scenes reminded me of something that I learned as a kid, but have failed to act on as an adult.

No, not the fighting, but the aiming higher.

Vikings liked close-up ax combat, but Anglo-Saxons preferred to shoot arrows from a safe distance. Here’s the bit I forgot, even though kiddie-me played with a bow and arrows. Archers don’t aim at the target. They aim above it.

The further away, the higher they aim. The further away, the more they stretch the bow.

Silly me. I have been aiming too low to hit my far-out goals. And when frustrated, I have chosen targets too close to make an impact.

From now on, I think I’ll play it safe. I’ll aim slightly higher at goals further out, even if it means a bit more stretching. Else my up-close goals will be axed again.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.