Are you your own worst enemy when it comes time to shoot a big match?? Do you shoot great locally, but when you travel out of town or out of state, things seem to fall apart??
If you can relate to either of these situations, you need to give some time to building up your mental game. Here are some tips, in no particular order, to help you master the mental game.
Think positively. Give yourself a chance to succeed! How many shooters do you hear after they shoot say something like: “man I really screwed up that reload/no shoot/far target….” Rather than focus on what you did wrong, focus on what you did right! That will reinforce the chance that you will succeed next time; versus moaning about what just went wrong – which will reinforce the chance that you will fail again.
Have a plan. When you step to the line, have a plan already in place for how you will shoot the stage or scenario. That way, when the buzzer goes off, your mind is not cluttered with “what do I do now?”. Ask any top-level shooter what he/she was thinking during a shoot and the answer will most likely be “nothing”.
Let your subconscious mind shoot the gun, not your conscious mind. We can only think of one thing at a time; if you are worried about your grip, slack out, front sight, when to do the reload, where to shoot from around cover, etc, you are dooming yourself to failure. Relax, take a deep cleansing breath, and let yourself shoot automatically. If you try to think too much or try too hard to do well, you are handicapping your shooting.
Have fun. If you’re not having fun and enjoying yourself, it’s just not worth it. I have noticed that my best performances come when I’m joking around and rather carefree prior to shooting and when I don’t let myself get too keyed up.
The mental aspect of shooting takes a lot of time to develop, you can help yourself in this respect by taking our AP III class. In addition, I have been helped a lot by the excellent material produced by Lanny Bassham.
If you follow these simple guidelines, you should see a marked increase in your shooting ability!
Have fun and be safe!
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