Mental Toughness

[Jake Di Vita]

What is mental toughness in shooting? Is it being able to grind out a good score when things aren't going well on the range? Or is it the mental ability to stay strong and committed in spite of distractions.

Every shooter should ask themselves this question. What does trusting the process mean to you?

Mental toughness is a decision. You must choose to either accept ownership of your internal state and how you perform or to shoot without this inner resolve.

[Vulture]

Being an apprentice to this sport but not to dealing with men in competition I will give you my thoughts even though i may be unqualified to do so.

Reading through this forum regularly you get to know people a little, their goals and how they want to achieve them, ect. And the people who have a mental game plan are by far the ones who succeed the most often. I remember a post where Micah had a video where he started on a bike and he said it was kind of a pain in the butt or some such comment and Steve A told him don't worry about the props, they are designed to take your mind away from shooting. It appears to me he has taken the mental game seriously because of the advice from some on this forum whom he respects, and the results speak for themself. Reading about the Nationals and these stages where you must carry a box "normal luggage fashion" and all the cries of these stupid things shouldn't be in our primier event, bla bla bla has led me to believe most people didn't bring their mental game with them.

Lets look at a few things about your run of the mill GM.

Can they shoot A's almost at will: yes

Can they break down a stage and analyze the best way to complete it: yes

Can they competently move through a stage with a minimum of wasted effort: yes

So what's left to mess with, Their head.

The Nationals is exactly where those props should be. Reading some of the after action posts you hear about missed opportunity and mental mistakes that cost people points and time. Remember last year (?) the coin in the bucket and what Robbie said about it. (how many missed it and did you chase it).

The people who appear to have done the best are the ones who didn't let the distractions of the bullsh*t get to them. The others let themselves be taken out of their game zone and couldn't get back in which is probably what the designers wanted because the competition is too close to just judge it on shooting alone. You want to be champion you need to have the complete package. You want to find out how to be a champion, don't ask one what he does for practice. Ask him how he thinks.

[Sam]

What does trusting the process mean to you?

Jake, this is a great question to ponder. And I sure liked Vulture's response.

The way I see it, mental toughness is closer to something I would call mental dicipline. As I have said before, I don't believe that I have a sub-concious mind. (Maybe I'm wrong, if I do have one and it is sub-conscious, then I'm just not conscious of the fact that it exists.)

I know that I do have a consciousness that exists in a place apart from my mind, but it isn't subjugated to my mind as the term "sub-conscious" would sugggest. And also that, rather than trusting in that true consciousness, my mind would much rather see itself as being in charge. A well diciplined mind does only what I tell it to do. It figures out the mechanics of the stage. It counts the rounds and sees that all the details are taken care of. It conducts the walk-through and visualizes the task at hand. It deals with the objective facts.

What an undiciplined mind does is wrestle for control of the situation. Before the buzzer, it wavers between over confidence and feelings of inadequacy. It give advice that usually begins with "you better do this or that ". It's like a petulant teenager at a high-school dance, quite sure that it is the smartest and most handsome boy there, but still scared witless deep inside. Rather than trusting, it speculates and worries. After the beep, it begins to coach or comment on the action. This usually leads to shooting well below my true ability.

And it isn't just shooting that's effected. Worry or non-acceptance of "what is" at any level in life never comes from being truly present or conscious. It comes from the mind trying to invent a crisis to solve.

Trusting the process is key to a contented life.

[M-TRAIN]

Being an apprentice to this sport but not to dealing with men in competition I will give you my thoughts even though i may be unqualified to do so.

Reading through this forum regularly you get to know people a little, their goals and how they want to achieve them, ect. And the people who have a mental game plan are by far the ones who succeed the most often. I remember a post where Micah had a video where he started on a bike and he said it was kind of a pain in the butt or some such comment and Steve A told him don't worry about the props, they are designed to take your mind away from shooting. It appears to me he has taken the mental game seriously because of the advice from some on this forum whom he respects, and the results speak for themself. Reading about the Nationals and these stages where you must carry a box "normal luggage fashion" and all the cries of these stupid things shouldn't be in our primier event, bla bla bla has led me to believe most people didn't bring their mental game with them.

Lets look at a few things about your run of the mill GM.

Can they shoot A's almost at will: yes

Can they break down a stage and analyze the best way to complete it: yes

Can they competently move through a stage with a minimum of wasted effort: yes

So what's left to mess with, Their head.

The Nationals is exactly where those props should be. Reading some of the after action posts you hear about missed opportunity and mental mistakes that cost people points and time. Remember last year (?) the coin in the bucket and what Robbie said about it. (how many missed it and did you chase it).

The people who appear to have done the best are the ones who didn't let the distractions of the bullsh*t get to them. The others let themselves be taken out of their game zone and couldn't get back in which is probably what the designers wanted because the competition is too close to just judge it on shooting alone. You want to be champion you need to have the complete package. You want to find out how to be a champion, don't ask one what he does for practice. Ask him how he thinks.

I enjoyed reading what you had to say.

[Rocket35]

I think Vulture is right on the money with his post.....good read- thanks.

[WARDOG]

Mental toughness, that's a thing that I've pondered for many a years.

I will try to explain in my very bad english..

Driving the mind to the uncomfortable zone requires discipline, but even the most disciplined mind will succumb to a greater odd once in a while.

Having a tough mind for me is living in a constant "prepare to leave" state.

Having a goal is surely a thing that helps in achieving it, but having no goal make possible to reach every target.

Bowing and flexing one mind to succumb to reality, having no tought, no answers, no struggle inside, having only a blank state of perception is what make toughness possible.

I discover this long time ago, when I embarked myself in extreme sport competition.

I was prepared to die.

Maybe I was TRYING to die.

So I had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing to hide, nothing to achieve.

I WAS nothing.

And for this reason I was everything possible.

I countered every odd with a fatalistic acceptance. I was already dead in my mind, I feared nothing on this earth.

Everything was possible.

Strangely, living searching death taught me to really LIVE.

Live free from my mind.

Hope I've explained well, sorry for my language.

W.

[shadetree]

Mental toughness, that's a thing that I've pondered for many a years.

I will try to explain in my very bad english..

Driving the mind to the uncomfortable zone requires discipline, but even the most disciplined mind will succumb to a greater odd once in a while.

Having a tough mind for me is living in a constant "prepare to leave" state.

Having a goal is surely a thing that helps in achieving it, but having no goal make possible to reach every target.

Bowing and flexing one mind to succumb to reality, having no tought, no answers, no struggle inside, having only a blank state of perception is what make toughness possible.

I discover this long time ago, when I embarked myself in extreme sport competition.

I was prepared to die.

Maybe I was TRYING to die.

So I had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing to hide, nothing to achieve.

I WAS nothing.

And for this reason I was everything possible.

I countered every odd with a fatalistic acceptance. I was already dead in my mind, I feared nothing on this earth.

Everything was possible.

Strangely, living searching death taught me to really LIVE.

Live free from my mind.

Hope I've explained well, sorry for my language.

W.

It seemed pretty clear to me. No need to appologize.

Great thread by the way.

[FranDoc]

Bowing and flexing one mind to succumb to reality, having no tought, no answers, no struggle inside, having only a blank state of perception ... Live free from my mind.

I believe you have found what the Buddhists call 'nothingness', or 'sunyata'. A lot of people talk about Zen and practice it for a long time, trying to achieve this state of mind.

Your English was just fine, understood perfectly. Thanks for the insight.

[38supPat]

I think the shooters that are labled as "mentally tough" are the ones that realize that none of this stuff matters once the buzzer goes. Once the 'Standby' command is given, there is no mental toughness, no thought, no decision making. The past stages don't matter, nor do your competitors or their scores, or the next shot. There is only the action of the moment.

Often I see the question about what seperates TGO from other shooters. I think it's because he is the one shooter that acts. Everybody has a plan, and when something goes wrong, the plan is gone. Before getting back to the plan the problem must be solved. I've seen so many circumstances where Rob had a problem (eg briefcase not staying put in the car he tossed it in) fixed it and carried on as if it were part of the plan. He's acting on what is happening, not what his plan told him would happen, or figuring out what just happened...it's pure action.

Maybe the "mentally tough" ones are the ones that truly realize how simple this all is..

[j1b]

Being an apprentice to this sport but not to dealing with men in competition I will give you my thoughts even though i may be unqualified to do so.

Reading through this forum regularly you get to know people a little, their goals and how they want to achieve them, ect. And the people who have a mental game plan are by far the ones who succeed the most often. I remember a post where Micah had a video where he started on a bike and he said it was kind of a pain in the butt or some such comment and Steve A told him don't worry about the props, they are designed to take your mind away from shooting. It appears to me he has taken the mental game seriously because of the advice from some on this forum whom he respects, and the results speak for themself. Reading about the Nationals and these stages where you must carry a box "normal luggage fashion" and all the cries of these stupid things shouldn't be in our primier event, bla bla bla has led me to believe most people didn't bring their mental game with them.

Lets look at a few things about your run of the mill GM.

Can they shoot A's almost at will: yes

Can they break down a stage and analyze the best way to complete it: yes

Can they competently move through a stage with a minimum of wasted effort: yes

So what's left to mess with, Their head.

The Nationals is exactly where those props should be. Reading some of the after action posts you hear about missed opportunity and mental mistakes that cost people points and time. Remember last year (?) the coin in the bucket and what Robbie said about it. (how many missed it and did you chase it).

The people who appear to have done the best are the ones who didn't let the distractions of the bullsh*t get to them. The others let themselves be taken out of their game zone and couldn't get back in which is probably what the designers wanted because the competition is too close to just judge it on shooting alone. You want to be champion you need to have the complete package. You want to find out how to be a champion, don't ask one what he does for practice. Ask him how he thinks.

Killer response to the question.

Couldn't add more if I wanted to.

J

[mike cyrwus]

Mental toughness is preparation and training.

Mental toughness only is necessary between match days, not on.

[benos]

Boring answer:

Mental toughness:

Before shooting: Your level of resolve to execute your plan (nothing more, nothing less).

While shooting: Your level of present-tense awareness, which allows the above to manifiest.

BigJoni's answer:

Cowboy up.

Michele's answer:

You reap what you sow.

(My favorite.)

[SMLGLOCK23C]

Nice one Brian!