Changes

[John Thompson]

Anyone here who has ever seen me shoot knows me as a crash and burn shooter. I managed to make master class by hammering the classifers and basically shooting so many of them I got an 85% average. I was obsessed with my class, winning matches and what other shooters thought of me. I wasn't fun to be around when things didn't go my way which was most of the time. I burned out on shooting really really bad and took two years off of competition. In that time I continued on as gun instructor in my career and now play paintball as my main sunday diversion. I shot two matches in the past two weeks for the first time in two years and haven't felt this good since I first started IPSC back in 1997. I now shoot for all A's and for perfect technique which is what I need as an instructor. I now consistantly draw in the 1.1 seconds and actually see my sights every time at that draw speed. I don't care about my class anymore, other than having achieved it, and don't care where I place in a match. My score is no longer nessessarily an indicator of how well I shot and I don't get all upset about gun jams and all the other things that can go wrong in a match.

I feel the urge to really get obsessed with shooting again, which is why I'm not. The time, money and emotional commitment of weekly matches is just too much. I'm going to look forward to the once or twice a month match and have fun shooting with my friends while enjoying hopefully much more consistancy.

[Reyn]

John i kinda heisitated about posting this cause its kind of embarassing but i get the same way a lot. Ive been powerlifting drug free for several years and got to the point where i found myself not enjoying it. If i broke a record i was on top of the world but failure in the gym would put me in a horrible mood towards everybody. I actually find myself trying to lean that way towards my shooting. I ended up tearing a bicep which put me out for a while. Maybe its some sorta compulsive disorder. Sometimes i would actually avoid doing a certain lift out of fear i wouldnt do as good before and i knew how it would bring me down. I took a layoff and when i came back i felt great. Sometimes i start to get the same way towards shooting. If i go out and im not doing as good as before it would get me down. Im finally realizing what the real important things are in life (wife,kids,health) and the other is for fun.

[Flexmoney]

Expectations.

That can be a huge monkey for us to carry around on our backs.

I think it can lead to pride. I find pride...to be a negative emotion.

[John Thompson]

Reyn,

I've undergone two surgeries from injuries in the gym brought on from my personality.

I've shot two three gun matches since I started this post and despite not performing anywhere near as well as I used to I still stayed in a good enough mood to get positve comments from people.

Edited August 26, 2006 by John Thompson

[Steve Moneypenny]

John that's awesome. I have learned the same thing.. your performance, good or bad has little to do with what people think of you. Feed off of peoples positive comments and leave negativity behind.

May you have a long and happy shooting career. Success without happiness is short lived.

[Reyn]

Expectations.

That can be a huge monkey for us to carry around on our backs.

I think it can lead to pride. I find pride...to be a negative emotion.

+ 1

John,im glad everything is going better for you.

Edited August 28, 2006 by Reyn

[benos]

I really enjoyed reading your post John. Thanks for putting it up here.

Stick with it,

be

[blackwolf]

I don't post much - but Pride being a negative emotion is one I can't let go of. Surprising coming from Flex.

Pride is not a negative. Nothing wrong with being proud. Expectations leading to pride is not intuitive to me.

There are things that I've done, and things that I do, that I am proud of. Nothing wrong with that.

When a poster who talks about divorce gets through his ordeal he will be proud. Nothing wrong with that, it is an indication of the strength that many forum members related to in that thread.

Pride without reason is a negative. Pride with reason is well worth celebrating.

Apologies to John for thread drift. That one just caught me wrong.

Wolf

[Flexmoney]

I'm sure there are different kinds of pride...and that it has different meaning for different people. It's just a word. Perhaps we don't all associate it with the same meaning.

[raz-0]

I'm sure there are different kinds of pride...and that it has different meaning for different people. It's just a word. Perhaps we don't all associate it with the same meaning.

Main Entry: 1pride

Pronunciation: 'prId

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English pryde, from prud proud -- more at PROUD

1 : the quality or state of being proud: as a : inordinate self-esteem : CONCEIT b : a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c : delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship <parental pride>

2 : proud or disdainful behavior or treatment : DISDAIN

3 a : ostentatious display b : highest pitch : PRIME

4 : a source of pride : the best in a group or class

5 : a company of lions

6 : a showy or impressive group <a pride of dancers>

There's definitely a difference between having respect for your own accomplishments, and taking pleasure from that, and somehow thinking your accomplishments make you something special compared to everyone you meet.

[Jane]

Main Entry: 1pride

Pronunciation: 'prId

Function: noun

In reality there is perhaps no one of our natural Passions so hard to subdue as Pride.

Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases,

it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself.

You will see it perhaps often in this History.

For even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it,

I should probably be proud of my Humility.

- Franklin (autobiography)

[John Thompson]

Shot today and went into the last stage competitve with the other master class guys for the first time in forever but I had gotten out of the habit of checking each bullet I load in a magazine and loaded a dud. I knew what I did as soon as it happened because I found another dud by chance. When the misfire happened I thought to myself "damn it...." but instead of falling apart I refocused and shot the remainder of the stage better than the beginning. This new attitude means a big deal when I instruct because if I screw up a demo I had better pull it out or I will loose crediblity with my students.

[John Thompson]

I shot distant second to the master in our sept match and still maganaged to take secod overall despite having a new gun thaI haven't quite worked the bugs out yet.

This summer showed me what I need to work on to take my shooting an all new level: effective practice, keepin the sport where it belongs in my life, and enjoying the company of some of great people that I have allways been to destracted to appriciate.

Edited October 17, 2006 by John Thompson

[Pclark832]

Im just on the opposite side of the sunday activity change.

I played competative paintball for the last 5 years. I played every single sunday and some weekdays with a team and traveled to events all over the US. We were pritty good but didnt win any events. When summer started I got really burned out and stopped playing.

I havent touched a paintball gun in at least 3 months.

I just discovered practical shooting. So I got rid of all my paintball gear and purchased a dillon 650, glock 35 and cr speed gear with ghost holdster. I have become a regualar at the local IPSC range shooting L10.

I guess change can be good for everyone no matter which way you're going or comming.

I might go back to play some paintball for fun someday, but for now IPSC is my new focus.

[Rocket35]

Great thread. I think that sooner or later in any sport, if you don't change things up and don't remember the truely important things in life, burn out is a natural progression. I have also been the person John is talking about. And I hated it. And it has led me to burning out. But it has taught me a couple of things I find important. 1. What is what is really important to me- "wife, kids and health", again from John. And 2. What my limits are and how to avoid burn out in the future. I loved this sport so much that the level of my involvement had some people locally saying- "I hate to see you stop shooting, IPSC is who you are". But I have come to realize that I am first and foremost a Father and a Husband. I have taken several months off also, and hopefully returning now with a new blaster and understanding of myself personally, I can once again enjoy the sport I love. Thanks agian for the insight here in this thread....

[John Thompson]

I almost had a major relapse and public melt down last sunday. We were shooting a steel challenge type match and the steel was really small. I struggled with it while at the same time I was trying to promote the shooting class I teach for the state to some cops at the match. They were not impressed, although I still scored much better than them, and I started to get very frustrated. However instead of making excuses I went home and did yard work for two hours straight. I will be ready to shoot small steel next time or I will do something else that sunday.

I was kind of suprised I struggled though because I shot a small steel man on man match the week before and did very well despite a slow start. I even had the fastest runs but the winner went to the person who stayed within their par time. I had a really good time that day.

Edited October 31, 2006 by John Thompson