The Myths of Improved Performance

Ask a room full of sporting clays shooters if they would like to be more consistent and you will be overrun with enthusiastic responses. Few, if any, really know why they are so inconsistent. Their practice and results are good on some days and not so good on others. But there seems to be no real consistent rhyme or reason for their results. 

It is the inconsistency that keeps most shotgun shooters from practicing. They don’t know what or how to practice, which eventually creates the conclusion that they just must not be talented with a shotgun. They love to go shoot, but they don’t know who will show up at the range on any given day. They worry about what others will think about how they shoot so they begin to evaluate, sometimes even before they arrive at the range. The instant they begin to evaluate, they begin to try to control something they cannot control: what other people think about them.

“Research shows that in pressure-filled situations when we are distracted by thinking about possible outcomes of our performance, our skills are measurably diminished,” writes Amy Cuddy in her book Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. “When we explicitly monitor ourselves, second by second, any task that requires memory and focused attention will suffer. We don’t have enough intellectual bandwidth to perform at our best and simultaneously critique our performance. Instead, we’re caught in a faulty circuit of trying to anticipate, read, interpret, and reinterpret how other people are judging us, all of which prevents us from noticing and interpreting what’s actually happening in the situation.” 

What is the most prevalent emotion we see that holds shooters back? FEAR! 

You become what you repeatedly do. Eventually, you become what you remember and the way you file those things in your brain as positive or negative will determine who you become. 

In their book, “Be A Player,” Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilssen share this about memory: 

“Psychological research has shown that humans have a 3:1 negativity bias as our default setting in storing memories. The brain naturally stores negative memories faster and stronger than positive ones. Neuroscience and evolution give us a simple explanation. It was much more important to remember danger and threats long ago than to remember positive or happy incidents. If we remember the snake and the hot stove, we are more likely to avoid them — and survive. On the other hand, when we store negative memories, consciously or subconsciously, we are prone to triggering those memories and emotions when we encounter similar experiences.”  

In his book “Peak,” Anders Ericsson mentions three myths associated with skill and improving skill. We think it’s important just to get them out there so you can be aware of them, not fall prey to them, and kill the learning process in your game. 

The myths are, 1) Abilities are limited by genetics or surroundings, 2) If you do something long enough you will get better, and 3) All it takes to improve is to try harder. 

While being naturally 6 foot 2 is a great advantage if you’re going to take up high jump or basketball at a high level (or swimming or tennis for that matter) it is definitely not an advantage as a gymnast or a diver. But we must look at where this height can be seen as an advantage. 

Just because we are tall, are we predisposed to be able to play basketball, tennis, or swim faster than anyone else? And in our game of sporting, just because our parents own or are associated with a gun club, does this automatically create a disposition for us to become an incredible shot without countless hours of deliberate practice?  

“Skill is built through repetition, failure, feedback, and countless hours on the range alone training your move and mount – and the willingness to fail in relentless pursuit of always being defined by your next shot, not your last!”
– Vicki Ash. 

Our research shows that a person’s mindset is the greatest single determining factor that opens the door to higher and higher levels of performance because it must be learned. Shooters with a flexible mindset have one thing on their mind: learn, learn, learn. At all costs, learn.

A.B.L.S…..Always Be Learning SOMETHING! 

The majority of shooters out there have what is called a fixed mindset, where their main goal is to look good. When offered either a hard course that pushes them out of their comfort zone or an easy corporate course where the targets are easier, they choose easier every time. They all want to get better, but the thing they are most afraid of always keeps them from taking the chance that allows for improvement. Shooters with a fixed mindset are trying to get better without missing.

When you study skill-building, you learn that it begins with failure. In fact, failing is where learning begins! 

So as you can see, you must build a game because it certainly is not based on your genes or surroundings. We have seen many shooters believe the second myth; they just shoot more and expect to better. We must admit that doing something more will lead to some improvement. But all great shots and experienced coaches will agree that without sound fundamentals, you can shoot as much as you want but not ever really push your potential.