Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

From the Lanny Bassham Newsletter...


Recommended Posts

Winning is only Part of the Journey!

Sometimes it seems that we spend too much time focusing on the results. We worry about where we will finish in a tournament or competition or if we will be successful in our business life. What would happen if we looked at outcome as a byproduct or a bonus instead of viewing it as the number one objective?

In our experience at Mental Management Systems the people who strive to succeed and focus solely on being on top of the leaderboard during the competition never fully reach their potential. Why? Aren't we supposed to focus on winning? Isn't that what we are competing for? There is a time and a place for focusing on winning but during the actual competition is not the time or place. The reason this is true is because the Conscious Mind can only think of one thing at a time. When we focus on winning we are not focusing on the process of executing our performance well.

Focusing on winning, planning your victory and dreaming of success happens in the goal setting process and in preparation. It is not only normal and acceptable to imagine yourself as the victor it is vital to growing the Self-Image necessary to win. The problem for most people is that they keep that same fire to succeed during the competition and even ignite a stronger more powerful flame due to the pressure. Competing with that strong desire to win as your primary focus is likely to cause you to over-try and put more pressure on yourself than is necessary to succeed.

Your support team (coaches, parents, friends and fans) need to be aware that your focus on competition day should be on the process of executing not on winning. Their job is to be there for you, support you, encourage you and enjoy the process with you. Their job is not to push you to focus on winning. In most cases competitors are not in total control of the final results of the competition. You are not in control of how others compete. If you are in a subjective grading sport or situation you have even less control over the results. So goal setting to win a tournament when you do not have control over the results may not be the best goal. Maybe you should goal set to have the best performance you are capable. Results are secondary. Winning is a bonus.

I'm sure my Father goal set to win the Olympic Gold Medal but his primary objective during competition was to execute each shot to the best of his ability, one shot at a time. During competition be less concerned with results and allow yourself the freedom to have fun. When you enjoy your participation, are in control of your thoughts and have a preplanned consistent mental program your chances of success increase. Focusing on winning does the opposite. Focusing on winning causes your focus to be pulled from process to results. Process is primary.

In conclusion: Competition is not all about winning - if your primary focus is winning you may be missing a chance to learn, grow and become a better you. Winning is a bonus but not the main objective. Especially if you compete in a sport that is subjective. Build You, Believe in You, Focus on becoming a better version of YOU.

Written by: Heather Sumlin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Mr. Anderson. Good post, this is a struggle some of us face. For me, learning to relax, execute, is key. I can and do, easily get caught up in focusing on winning. It's a trap that's snared me more than once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. I really dig this. Gonna have to read it a few more times.

I think this pretty much nails my inconsistency problems at matches. From here on out, I think I'll focus on nailing ever shot, movement, reload etc. to the best of my ability.

Good stuff! Thanks Steve.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this really is the way to go, for me personally at least. Performance driven motivation works for me, result driven motivation (I want to win, etc) is detrimental for my score in the end.

Performance driven lets you shoot every stage as a new stage, when you are result driven you take the load of the last stage that didn't go all that well into shooting the next stage, not good.

Funny thing with stuff like this is that knowing the theory and realizing it actually works and using it are two totally different things. Can take ages to sink in, at least it did for me ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, a great post. I remember things really started to click for me once my focus shifted away from winning and over to performance. Suddenly practice was fun in and of itself. The timer became fun to shoot against, instead of a simple measuring device of success/failure. Experimentation started to thrive and overall I began to relax. It was a pivotal time for my shooting. Oddly, today it still holds true for bullseye shooting. I know this may sound funny, but I can have a lot of fun just dry-firing at black dot. When the hammer falls and the sights don't move or drift, I know it was a 10. That is performance.

Grunt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...