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Burn Out...


Flexmoney

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After reading some more post I guess my definetion of "burnt out" is different than what some are talking about. When I talk about burnt out, for me its when there is no desire to practice any longer. Matches are always fun but preparing for them sometimes gets old. I have yet to get tired of shooting and want to stop it all together but practicing 3-4 times a week all yr takes alot out of you. Thats why I believe a off season is needed. So during the season your practices are able to stay 100% focused. Your practices determine how your yr will be and I want to be focused while practicing. This is what becomes hard and almost tedious. To be able to keep that focus during the practice for the whole yr. Sometimes even a small mid season break is needed or even a different routine to give your mind something else to think about and work on.

Flyin40

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I agree with John. Nobody ever got burned out on shooting by shooting.

Burnout comes from judging, obsessing, fretting, all that garbage that actually harms shooting and detracts from it. It is indeed, a downward spiral.

You have to be free of concern over the outcome. Pay attention to the things that really matter. How you are going to do, or how you have done, is totally irrelevant to the actual shooting and the primary source of the frustration that leads to burnout.

Jesus said this: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these (other) things will be added unto you." In other words, forget about the outcomes in life. Forget about the cares of the world and pay full attention to the things with eternal significance.

This prioritization of life also applies to shooting. Seek the shooting first. And the goals, the time, the money, all of the other frustrations will take care of themselves. It's the act, not the outcome, that matters.

Edited by Sam
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I'm just coming out of a period of burnout. At least I think I'm coming out of it :)

I am switching to Open to drum up some excitement. The "new-ness" of it all makes it seem more interesting for awhile.

I'll probably shoot more for fun this year than previously but I do plan on doing some real practice as well. We'll see how it goes.

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Sam:

The burn out I experience comes from giving to others at the exclusion of self. The cure is to be found in the process of ogranized abandonment, the letting go of those things that cost more than a person is willing to give. I have lived my life with the motto of, "Give willingly and expect nothing in return." It's hard to stop.

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Ron,

My reply wasn't directed at you, I know how hard you work putting on matches, running stats, building props, target stands, etc, etc. It was mainly posted because of my frustration at being unable to shoot lately because of a combination of work, family, disaster (broken water pipe and subsequent rebuild), weather.

Right now I'd love to be shooting, getting ready for spring. I've got that fire, but no outlet.

So a good way to get rid of shooting burnout is to burnout on something else...like work and remodeling. Hence my post. It did come across kinda mean-spirited, but someone has to be the forum dick.

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...... the letting go of those things that cost more than a person is willing to give.....

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

.....I have lived my life with the motto of, "Give willingly and expect nothing in return." It's hard to stop.

See above. However admirable (and it truely is) this is a hard road....

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John:

ROTFLMAO. Hey man, between joking around with you and trying to wax philosophical with Sam, we managed to get on different pages. As usual, no offense meant nor taken. If you are going to rattle my cage you will need to shake it a lot harder.

Right now I'd love to be shooting, getting ready for spring. I've got that fire, but no outlet.

You better be lighting that fire under your rump is you plan on shooting Open. I am going to smoke you like a cheap cigar.

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I still plan to debut (come out? :P ) in Open this spring, but I'll probably shoot mostly limited for the bigger matches. I got the call from Sedro for a Nationals slot in Limited, so I'm going to work towards that, using the open gun to cross train more than anything. This long range rifle stuff is also pretty addictive.

As far as smoking me...[John Wayne mode on] That'll be the day!

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the process of ogranized abandonment, the letting go of those things that cost more than a person is willing to give
I like that concept, Ron! :)

I've been shooting a lot lately. Pure enjoyment. No matches to think about, none of that stuff that leads to burn out. Here are some things that I think tend to burn me out:

1) Travel. My wife once observed, "You drive six-teen hours one-way to a match and then get the shooting done in the shortest time possible."

2) Too much attention directed away from my family.

3) Letting home projects go while I spend all my spare time shooting. (It takes a lot of dicipline for me to not shoot.)

4) Putting on matches for people who don't take shooting seriously. Shooting with someone who is on the same wave-length is awesome. Shooting with people who aren't into discovery is like having teeth drilled.

5) Giving myself pressure over how I think I should shoot, instead of just shooting.

John, as far as syntax goes, I think you should stick with making your open gun debut.

Hollywierd seems to be all abuzz over some strange cowboy movie right now. Probably not a good idea for anyone in Wyoming to say anything about "coming out" for awhile. :lol:

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  • 7 years later...

Resurrecting an old thread...first one that came up in the search....

OK, so I'm starting to lose the feeling...for getting up at 0-dark-thirty on Sundays as well as the rest of the week...for two hours of set-up (if I get there on time even!) and another hour and a half of tear down for maybe two minutes of shooting and that was TOO SLOW...for watching my name fall further and further down the results list and knowing most of that's my own fault...for trying to cope with a body that's not 23 or 30 or even 45 and knowing how many would roll their eyes at 56 (how come everything's starting to go now?)...for even posting ANOTHER one of my complaints on here instead of trying to contribute something useful. Sometimes I feel like selling all the competition stuff, keeping the two 20 gauges (don't even want to put up with 12 gauge recoil anymore) and just shooting clay sports...where you show up, shoot, pay for how many rounds you shot afterwards and bag. 'Cept I help load the traps and pick up hulls there too, so I'm not being a total scrub, but it fits the amount of effort I want to put into "having fun" these days.

Heck, I don't even want to go out unless it's like close to "perfect" nowadays y'know; light off-shores, waist to head high with an occasional overhead set, makeable bowl sections and a barrel or two. And I used to surf ANYTHING before.

Maybe I need to run away back to the quarry department 'cause these six-day-ten-hour-a-day weeks in the shop I could do ten, even five years ago but now...I dunno. It's nice having enough money again though.

I've taken time off before, sometimes more'n a year or so...maybe I just need another sabbatical.

Well if the guys who know me don't see me around here that much or at the range in the future it's not anything serious. I probably just need a break.

Have fun, keep shooting, and I'll see you around again, hopefully sooner than later.

Aloha,

Gino

Edited by gino_aki
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Resurrecting an old thread...first one that came up in the search....

OK, so I'm starting to lose the feeling...for getting up at 0-dark-thirty on Sundays as well as the rest of the week...for two hours of set-up (if I get there on time even!) and another hour and a half of tear down for maybe two minutes of shooting and that was TOO SLOW...for watching my name fall further and further down the results list and knowing most of that's my own fault...for trying to cope with a body that's not 23 or 30 or even 45 and knowing how many would roll their eyes at 56 (how come everything's starting to go now?)...for even posting ANOTHER one of my complaints on here instead of trying to contribute something useful. Sometimes I feel like selling all the competition stuff, keeping the two 20 gauges (don't even want to put up with 12 gauge recoil anymore) and just shooting clay sports...where you show up, shoot, pay for how many rounds you shot afterwards and bag. 'Cept I help load the traps and pick up hulls there too, so I'm not being a total scrub, but it fits the amount of effort I want to put into "having fun" these days.

Heck, I don't even want to go out unless it's like close to "perfect" nowadays y'know; light off-shores, waist to head high with an occasional overhead set, makeable bowl sections and a barrel or two. And I used to surf ANYTHING before.

Maybe I need to run away back to the quarry department 'cause these six-day-ten-hour-a-day weeks in the shop I could do ten, even five years ago but now...I dunno. It's nice having enough money again though.

I've taken time off before, sometimes more'n a year or so...maybe I just need another sabbatical.

Well if the guys who know me don't see me around here that much or at the range in the future it's not anything serious. I probably just need a break.

Have fun, keep shooting, and I'll see you around again, hopefully sooner than later.

Aloha,

Gino

Hey Gino,

I was there (though I was young and stupid at the time) and I quit for almost 12 years. Now I'm old and fat and having the time of my life just shooting with good folks like you. I finish wherever I finish - I don't even pay attention anymore. You're spot on about the body not being able to do what the mind fondly remembers. It's the club nobody wants to join but everyone has to sooner or later (it came sooner for me :goof: ).

So if you're not feeling it, take some time and give it a rest. Come back when it feels right.

Aloha Brah. Thanks for making me feel welcome on my visit.

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Gino

I've never told anyone this but I came real close to walking away from the sport a few times

I've had many of those "why am I doing this" days

What I found is while I enjoy competing & hanging out with the guys, I don't really care about being competitive anymore

The drive to practice is gone, dry fire is something I used to do

The Nationals absolutely killed my desire to travel to mainland matches

I guess what I'm trying to say, I know where you're coming from and when the desire returns, we'll be happy to see you back

Ray

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I'm with Lumpy and in fact his story could be mine.

Love the game, but quit for quite a while because of some burnout and life balance issues. Started shooting again a while ago and have been really enjoying the social aspects of hanging out with good folks for day or two a month, shooting the matches and doing the best I can but not really worrying about it, helping out as I can, and accepting that looking a the scores is only academic and is usually entertaining. Moving up a class isn’t even a consideration. It is actually a pretty comfortable place to be, and I am really enjoying it.

Take some time and get on those greasy-glassy 4 foot sliders (damn you and your fantastic long period Hawaiian swells!!! :bow: ). Put your toes on the nose, feel the power and grace of the wave, breath in the salt tinged essence of life and grok that it is all about balance….in everything.

Aloha and Pura Vida. :cheers:

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  • 1 month later...

Update: I'm baa-aaaack. I guess that wasn't that long of a break.

But between my last post and now there have been three south swells where I got a few good waves...important for a Cancer to get in the water y'know. Shot the last three matches this month with the Open gun and still sorta sucked the first two, but there were flashes of !wow! that was a good run here and there. The last one today would count as an "achievement" in one of my youngest son's video games: Shoot an entire match with no misses or penalties. Finished 2nd overall, first in Open and I'm going to take it even though I was the only one shooting Open :goof: . Haven't done that well in a long time and it sure helped dispel the last of my funk.

Also bought a new toy, one of those Taurus 1911's that they gussied up with the gold accents (hey! it was chea...erm...inexpensive, relatively) that I've already dubbed "The Pimp Gun" but have had fun seeing how much of a silk purse I can make out of a sow's ear, will post pics in the "Single Stack Elitist's Club" thread when it's done. Already thinking of putting together a mild "because it's legal" Single Stack Division gun: railed Commander with a bull barrel.

Aches and pains and sucky situation at work remain but at least life is interesting again. Thanks for the kind words from Jon and Ray and Bamboo.

A hui hou,

Gino

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glad to see you back Gino. sometimes when I get that "why am I doing this" feeling a little break helps me to refocus too. long 6-7 day work weeks and shitty sleep (meaning not enough it) really does wreck the body and make it hard to focus on shooting...

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Glad to hear you're back Gino :cheers:

Depending on funds, my house remodel and work, I might be headed back to Maui later this year. I'll be sure to drop you a note if it works out. I'd love to shoot with you all again and this time, I'll have my SV single stack.

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I've noticed the onset of burnout and avoided it by changing my environment.Im fortunate to live in a town with 5 separate clubs and 2 more a hour and a half from the house for weekend matches.With seven monthly matches with classifiers available,along with 4 three gun shoots every month, I found moving around ,shoot with different people and groups will put enough new perspective on shooting to keep it relative. Shooting the Steel Challenge matches give you a break that not only revives some basic skills(draw n fire) but lets you shoot in auto mode without having to think your way through a stage. To surmise my reaction to shooting burnout is shooting in itself.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've noticed the onset of burnout and avoided it by changing my environment.Im fortunate to live in a town with 5 separate clubs and 2 more a hour and a half from the house for weekend matches.With seven monthly matches with classifiers available,along with 4 three gun shoots every month, I found moving around ,shoot with different people and groups will put enough new perspective on shooting to keep it relative. Shooting the Steel Challenge matches give you a break that not only revives some basic skills(draw n fire) but lets you shoot in auto mode without having to think your way through a stage. To surmise my reaction to shooting burnout is shooting in itself.

I'm so sure that I will never get burnt out if I ONLY shoot....

I may be wrong, but I think the main reason for being "Burnt Out" is all the volunteer work such as:

-always RO'ing

-BOD

- designing and building stages

-running scoresheets/stats

- website maintenance

- building and repairing props

- listening to complaints by those who don't help( worse by other BOD's)

- using your personal truck to haul

.... Can't really focus on your game if you're doing these.So I guess I'm Burnt Out :-(

Edited by 67 LS1 Camaro
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  • 1 month later...

Very interesting and informative thread. I have shot many different games over the years and made up even more shooting activities with my friends.

I don't considering switching my focus from one shooting interest to another "burnout." To me, that is just me following my whims.

I have experienced a feeling of emptiness or that my shooting is meaningless and unfulfilling. Maybe that is burnout.

But I have only experienced that feeling when I have neglected more important priorities/responsibilities in favor of shooting, and then those responsibilities/priorities move away from me or I experience the loss of those things in my life. Then I feel empty and feel like my shooting

is meaningless and unfulfilling. I feel as if I have "paid too high a price" for the shooting and that it is not worth what I paid.

When that happens, I stop shooting, get my shit together elsewhere in my life, and then I return to shooting feeling good about it.

Other than that, I have been shooting without "burnout" since I was in the third grade. I cannot remember a single year in my life since then that I have not bought some kind of firearm or air arm.

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I think the key to not experiencing burn out is to avoid focusing on the judgement side of your shooting, which eventually leads to frustration if you start not to meet your goals ... If you want to get better you obviously need to set goals but when results are your only priority i think you're on the path to burn out ... Of course if you meet every goal you ever set for yourself WRT shooting you'll probably never have to worry about burn out ...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sometimes it helps to remember the fun in what we do. I know in my Cycling (MTB) that sometimes it is great to just go for a ride, turn off the GPS timers and power meters, have no training goals for the day, ride your bike as a kid would and have fun.

I am sure in competitive shooting the same could be applied.

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