We are taught from birth that failure is bad and something to be avoided. Failure can be your friend — if you let it.
Every success is born and dies in failure.
Failure is only bad if nothing is learned.
Striving for perfection excites the presence of the Fear of Failure. How many times have you run the first four or five stations and thought to yourself “I’m straight” and you immediately begin to miss targets — the easy ones! What happened?
On Stations 1 through 5, you were in the present – shooting the birds one at a time, relaxed and confident. When you realized you had not missed any, you began to think about your final score. At that point, you left the present and moved into the future by thinking about your overall performance. You have no control of your future. The only thing you can control is the present; what you are doing right now.
A good round is the sum of all shots, both good and bad. A great round is the result of staying in the present on every shot, and giving positive emotion to every shot regardless of result. Guard against going into a competition with expectations of score or results. Go into a competition with the resolve that you will be positive, stay in the present, and let the score take care of itself.
Ability doesn’t control performance.
Your ability to trust your ability controls performance.
Log in or become a member to read the rest of this article.
