Hey QuicksDraw! Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 (edited) I never thought I would think about giving up the sport. My wife and I have been under a lot of stress as of late. She has been very unhappy with her job, which makes me unhappy. Her stress is my stress. She is thinking about quitting her very lucrative job. I would rather us be poor than to have her unhappy. Real life problems have made shooting seem frivolous and a waste of time and money. Time which could be spent fixing the house or doing something "important." Money which could be banked in case of hard times. I'm not an advanced shooter but I love the sport and don't want to quit. I feel like I am speaking blasphemy when I talk of quitting. I am running out of energy and find it hard to dry fire and get to the range to practice. I have not been signing up for the big matches. Sigh. How do you stay focused when life intrudes into your training and motivation? What do you do to keep your mind in the game? How do I find my mojo? Edited May 6, 2006 by Hey QuicksDraw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMH Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 To me the answer is simple. Don't. If you don't feel like shooting don't go. I took a few years off a while back for a baby and a new house and have usually enjoyed myself since the return. The money saved was much better spent on other projects. If I would rather spend time with my family I do that instead. Very few of us could ever make a living doing this so shoot for fun when you want to and if you can afford to. To me this is just a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscott Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 I completely understand what you're dealing with. I used to be as serious of a hunter as anyone and it didn't matter if it were deer or squirrels. I haven't messed with it for a couple years now. I just basically quit over a 2 year period. It's hard to believe I haven't been in a tree stand for 3 years. Now I'm addicted to this crazy pistol shooting. Who would have figured blasting cardboard can be as fun as chasing bunnies? It's just part of life I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 Most all of us have undergone the same feelings..if getting away from it works for you..do it..enjoy the time off..then come back and enjoy that too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 For sure quit shooting for a while. Realize that if you think you want to quit the sport completely and get rid of your gear, you'll just be buying it all back again in a few months. The reasons you once loved the game still exist, they are just hiding from you right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted May 6, 2006 Author Share Posted May 6, 2006 Didn't you guys read the part where I say I don't want to quit! I want to FIND my mojo not rest it. I suck too much to stop. If I stop shooting I'll be back at square one, which isn't that far off. I don't want to waste all the practice and time I have invested. How do you recharge your battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 (edited) Your are not going to want to hear this but the best way to recharge the battery is to give it a rest for a 3-4 weeks. No shooting at all. Then book yourself onto a big match, say a State Championship or an Area match. Go do a big match and you'll get sucked into it and feel better. I stopped shooting for about 3 months Oct-Jan, didn't miss shooting at all. Then started watching the DVDs of the last World Shoot and Nationals and wanted to get back into it again. For me the weekly matches just don't seem to light a fire under me, but recently I've been building myself up for the CO State match and starting to feel a little more enthused. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't force yourself to get back into the game. Your mind/body are telling you to take a break, so take one. But they say a change is as good as a rest so the change of venue to shoot at a bigger match may also help. Your are very fortunate in that you have other important things in your life, it sounds like you care a great deal about wife and family and that is great. I'm still single, the only thing I have in my life is shooting and sometimes (a lot of the time) that sucks big time. Spend some time with the family and de-stress yourselves, do something on the weekends that you don't normally do, once the stress has gone then things will start to improve. Join a gym and workout together. I do that 5 times a week and if I didn't I would have gone nuts by now. Stress is adrenaline; It's your body's way of getting you ready to fight or flight and if you can do neither then you get sick. A workout will give the adrenaline something to do, at least it works for me. Sorry if this is a bit rambling, but I'm writing this as I think of it. I hope you and yours feel better soon. Edited May 6, 2006 by BritinUSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 (edited) Stew, first of I want to say I'm sorry to hear this. I know exactly how it feels. I have been in this position two or three times now. I do however, totally agree with DMH. The only thing that makes lost mojo worse, is forcing it. Find something FUN to do. If you don't want to shoot, then don't. Mojo is like most other things. You will find it when you stop looking for it Take care buddy and keep us posted! Edit: I just read this: If I stop shooting I'll be back at square one, which isn't that far off. I don't want to waste all the practice and time I have invested. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've shot my best matches after a layoff. As most people will agree on these forums, shooting requires a great deal of focus. I have found that my general focus fades when I'm stuck in a rut (like forcing myself to practice, even if I don't feel like it). Whenever I shoot after taking some time off, I see things differently. It's a great way to break through a plateau and reach new levels. The only difficulty is to let go of the idea that you will "lose" your skills by not practicing. Half this game is ninety percent mental It's all between your ears. If you "quit" now and pick up the gun 5 years later, you will be back where you are now in less than 5 months (more like 5 weeks). There is a big chance that you are actually holding yourself back by practicing against your will. Edited May 6, 2006 by spook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 How do you stay focused when life intrudes into your training and motivation? What do you do to keep your mind in the game? How do I find my mojo? Maybe try shooting with some different people?? This whole game is an extremely social thing, for most of us anyway. But some people get themselves locked into shooting only with their own special little clique, and unless the chemistry is exactly right, that tends to create burn-out in and of itself. I'll disagree with the others who have responded to some extent--I think shooting can be a great stress relief outlet. When I'm shooting with my friends (or with people I've just met at a big match, for that matter), the last thing I'm thinking about are problems at work or at home. So don't quit. Shoot more...but give yourself a change of scenery in terms of the people you're shooting with. Just a thought. Good luck. Things do have a way of working themselves out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 Vacation. What you lose is made up for by what you gain during the break. I took a year long break a while back, came back and the first match I shot was a classifier match. I got bumped up a class (B or A, I think) the next month. If you can't stand not shooting, grab a .22 or a production gun and pile of factory 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 No need to quit shootin' Never sell off gear or guns just because you aren't doing it right at the moment. Just don't do it when you don't feel like it. Then, when you do feel like it again, everything will be right there, ready to go :-) Heck, even when I took a many year layoff, I used firearm maintenance and keeping up a supply of loaded ammo as a therapeutic hobby getaway from the day-to-day hassles of life. Even when I wasn't actually getting out to shoot, shooting was still my sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterj Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Take a break, read or reread Brian's book during your layoff. Give what you read time to sink in. When you return to the range, you will see things in a new light. Your "mojo" may be behind the first target of the first stage of the first match when you return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azone41 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 (edited) I burned out about 8 years ago and quit shooting for a few years. I got into paintball with my son ( much more expensive then shooting) and we started playing with a sponsered team it was great. After I retired from the military we moved to Altus Ok for my new job and there was an USPSA club here so I started back and have found a renewed passion for the game but its only a game. Forcing yourself to practice and dry fire dosen't help, just take a break and do some catch-up around the house the drive to start shooting will come back. Edited May 7, 2006 by Azone41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 I will come at this from a little different angle. If you are worried about money, figure out if you have a reason to worry. Analyze the debt you and your wife carry. Analyze it top to bottom, along with what happens to the debt you have (how do you pay it?) if your wife quits her job. Do you two have a budget? It is the fear of what might happen that always takes a toll...and it usually never turns out to be the nightmare we worry about. My bet is you have not lost the desire, you are just going through normal stuff that gets your mind kicked up to setting priorities that it otherwise might not have to. Get out a sharp pencil, sit with your wife, find out where you are with her job and without. As an aside? Some jobs you have to plan to quit---not just quit. Do it when it makes better sense. For example, as opposed to quitting Monday, and having a temporary great feeling---until reality kicks in---set a date and say, hey, in 6 months I am gone so we have to prep for it now. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 I agree with George about not panicking and selling your guns or anything goofy or drastic.... but it's OK to back off and give it all a rest. I had to slow down drastically on shooting a year or so ago--kinda a financial thing (range fees and other fees kept going UP), kinda a burnout-I'm-not-improving-and-don't-have-time-to-practice-properly thing, partly a rift or two with factions at the local range that were making some of us uneasy. So I've slowed down and just shoot a little for pleasure now and then (though I have one short match upcoming in July) and let the personal shooting pressure ease off---I had so many other personal things coming at me at the time that I just, well, had to let the shooting go for a bit. I had no choice... and not enough money, frankly, to do it the way I was doing it there for a while (namely all the time!!). Just take a break, clean your guns now and then, reload now and then... and just think about it all now and then. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Hmm.... Sounds like you're feeling guilty about spending time and money on a recreational sport when you've got some pending changes in your family situation that will require your attention and financial prudence. At the same time, I'll bet, you're a little resentful that it's no longer fun-as-usual, with plenty of upcoming big matches, or frequent local matches, or whatever: the "lots of exciting shooting stuff" to keep you motivated and enthuthiastic. IMO, figure out why you're resentful, and work out a solution to the first issue, and your mojo will be back in force. Maybe just shoot a single, local match once a month, but practice for it as seriously as any major? Or, you can be like the famous Telecaster player, Danny Gatton, who retreated from life as an adult; buried himself in his parent's basement for 3 years, but when he emerged he was a monster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbocomp38s Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 It affects you because you care for your wife. What problems she has or you have it does affect you both. I would not sell your Mojo. Take a break and try to contemplate what's the best thing to do. It maybe easy for me to say, but I've seen in that situation before trying to survive on a weekly basis but learned a lot and being a stronger person. It is sad that we have to deal with these challenges but we have to face it and deal with reality. Always remember, we always have solutions to all of those problems and everything will work out fine in the long run. Sometimes in life, we run into that wall and we don't know what's the next thing to do. You are in that maze and you don't where to go from here when there is no trun. Maybe, a good suggestion is to pray and ask for enligtenment. Not trying to be religious here but does help. Kidding aside, I spent most of my time during non- shooting days or non- weekend matches learning martial arts. It has really helped me battle stress and beat up my colleagues if I need to. (that's when we have protective gear during sparring sessions) Just trying to cheer you up man!!! Goodluck!!! "TOUGH TIMES NEVER LAST BUT TOUGH PEOPLE DO LIKE YOU" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3quartertime Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Have dinner with Jake Da Vita!!! He's the coolest and a great motivator. Heck I've actually moved the blaster from the range bag to the desk area so I can get a grip when needed!!! Seriously one thing that Jake stresses is to hang with good shooters. They tend to bleed motivation and cool vibes. Somehow I've been lucky to get to know some really cool cats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 How do you stay focused when life intrudes into your training and motivation? What do you do to keep your mind in the game? How do I find my mojo? The best thing I can recommend is to not make shooting your life. I used to go to a match or two EVERY weekend for several years, now I can barely find the motivation to go to a local club match. I'm starting to get into rifle-shooting, it's something new and something to keep my enthusiasm up while at the same time, allowing me to take a break from USPSA without really taking a break from shooting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Have dinner with Jake Da Vita!!!He's the coolest and a great motivator. Heck I've actually moved the blaster from the range bag to the desk area so I can get a grip when needed!!! Seriously one thing that Jake stresses is to hang with good shooters. They tend to bleed motivation and cool vibes. Somehow I've been lucky to get to know some really cool cats... Stu shoots with guys the rest of us pay to take classes from , so that may not be it. Or, it might be, the other way around. Those guys keep at it, no breaks, in order to be on the very top. As an A or B shooter, you can get away with a lot more slacking off and still turn in ok scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Stew, You are an excellent asset to the sport. Shooting is what you were built to do (you have said this your self). You have alot of different options avialable to you. What I think what would best fill a void and remotivate you would be to find some one who is going to depend on you to train. Weather it be a shooter at a lower level then you that causes you to really get back to basics and re-examine a few things you may have taken for granted, some one you will have to meet up with on a some what regular basis so you have to get out there and practice too. And the more recomended option would be that seeing how you are welcomed among so many GM's that perhaps you could cox one to be that motivator that you have to get to the range to meet up with or atleast report to. Suround yourself with those high caliber shooters and feed off there energy (the same energy you have passed on to others). You are ready to move up a class (or two), aim smaller miss smaller man. Make this the end of your platue . -Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 First I want to say thank you to all of you who have offered their support to me during my slump. With your help I have gained insight from your responses and have started to narrow it down. Most of it is worrying about my wife. Her happiness is the most important thing in my life. Her job situation may have worked itself out. She had a talk with her boss and he has agreed that some of his requests go above and beyond her job description. Shred has part of it right, I am blessed to have a number of GM's as friends. Guys I talk to daily about Stargate, or Sony PSP games, or whatever. They have also taken me under their cumulative wings and it is both a blessing and a curse. I want to make the most of the oportunity that they have given me. Wouldn't you? I am not allowed to slack off. I HAVE to perform. Jake is going to blow a gasket when he reads this thread and I'll have hell to pay. He's coming to see me next weekend and my ass is grass. These guys never stop training and niether shall I. It might be that with all the help I'm given I STILL SUCK! I feel that I'm not progressing as fast as I'd like. I will not quit. I will work my way thru. I shot Guthsville yesterday and did O.K. I just have to get off of this Plateu. May have found my Mo, still looking for Jo. Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 How do you stay focused when life intrudes into your training and motivation? What do you do to keep your mind in the game? How do I find my mojo? I don't! When life intrudes that much, shooting goes to the back burner. When life gets less stressful, the shooting is fun again and all is right in the world!Seriously though, DO NOT add more stress to your life over this, just set down the shooting until you (and your wife) are ready again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Murphy Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 The past two months has found me not doing want to do any match shooting. This sounds funny, but take a few noobies out for a days shooting. Their enthusiasm rubs off on you. We do new shooters classes every now and then. I always feel born again after doing one. Ted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 Stew how is your mojo after this past weekends match? Deciple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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