My breath swirled in the cold morning air as I exited the truck. I was running out of time and the end of the season was coming up quick. It was time to make something happen. I settled in over a long valley of sage brush and saplings. I felt sure this would be the spot.
When the temperatures finally decide to behave, winter sets in, and the deer get moving in South Alabama, you know it’s about to be game time. Most of the conventional rules for deer hunting go by the wayside as the bucks become far more concerned with the doe than with their own survival. Deer are moving, chasing, and fighting. There is really not a lot of rhyme or reason to how and where they will show up. As a hunter you always have to be good, but during the rut, sometimes you only need to be lucky.
As the sun crept over the distant hillside the light began to fall into the valley. I pulled my hat down tighter on my head as the breeze swept over the ridge. “Any moment now” I thought. I scanned the horizon looking for any movement, but saw nothing.
As the sun rose higher the valley revealed its beauty. The scene was picturesque. If I were a big buck, this is definitely the place I’d want to wander. But scanning the valley there was still no movement. Everything was still and would remain that way for several more hours. Then the argument started.
There is an argument that echos in the mind of every outdoorsman. Whether hunter or fisherman, the argument is the same. It is present with each trip into the wild. On the outcome of this argument hangs the very success we search for. The battle between what is known and unknown. The question we cannot avoid is: “Should I move?”
There are plenty of outdoorsmen that live by the creed that you should never give up on your spot. Plenty say that if you move positions you risk more than you would if you stay put. But there is also a line of thinking that would argue that if the action isn’t where you are, it has to be somewhere, so get there. All of your hunting or fishing intellect tells you that conditions are right, but you’re not seeing it. You’re in the wrong position. This is especially true when hunting bucks during the rut. Just because you’re not seeing results doesn’t mean there’s not an opportunity. Sometimes you have to make a move to make something happen. When nothing around you is changing, sometimes you have to move and create the change in your circumstances.
Are you stuck? Have you been watching the valley for too long without seeing any progress? Everything is lined up, the conditions are right, but you just can’t seem to find the payoff you’ve been pursuing. Are you arguing with yourself about what to do now?
After about twenty minutes of internal strife I decided to make the move. I climbed down and relocated a new spot. Within minutes of settling in along the edge of field just back in the hardwoods, the action came to me. I watched the herd move and feed for over an hour before taking a shot. It wasn’t the story I set out to live that morning, but the experience was more intimate and exciting than I could have hoped for. All because I made a move.
Your time is now. It’s time to move. It’s time to matter. Click below to listen to this week’s podcast where Steven and I give you two simple ways to make a move, get in motion, and start living the life you’ve been searching for. You were made for significance. You were made to matter. Make a move today. Start living the life you wish you could.