Many thanks to two fellow shooters who elected to provide some feedback on their own goal setting process for the coming year. May their comments inspire others to put their thoughts into words, and their words into actions!
First, lets hear from Grant O’Neal – a fellow shooter who like myself, adopted sporting clays later in life. Grant and I have shared numerous conversations related to peak performance topics. As it turns out, our libraries contain many of the same volumes.
Here are his comments related to goal setting:
My 2021 sporting clays goals are still in formative state. Some broad multi-objective things are:
- Increase exposure to new/different courses, sporting clay games (Supersporting, 5-stand, etc.) and target variety
- Improve on and refine my practice purpose/discipline and relevance (i.e., right mix of training on fundamentals, specific targets, and/or competition skills)
The use of the word “relevant” above relates to recent neuro-science research on what triggers the brain to identify the things it designates as important to learn. The brain puts a different chemical tag on actions it believes are important to learn (i.e., understand and build into related skills) versus the myriad mundane inputs it receives and the actions we take every day. That chemistry marks those high relevance actions and gives them extra neuro-modulating attention. Relevance is defined by each person differently, but typically fits on things that are critical to survival, or provide us with significant emotional rewards, and/or occupy a large part of our active lives.
In response, our brain literally makes changes (physically and chemically) to accommodate and “make room” for that learning to take place. How (emotionally and physically) and what we practice will influence that process and aid in learning effectiveness. So, for me, it’s important to monitor my attitudes and energy levels about practice. I know when I’m more engaged and stimulated for practice and when I’m getting a little flat. I’ve learned to pay attention to that stuff and alter plans and practice content to make sure I’m not just going through the motions. The fine balancing act is striving to get the right mix of practice fundamentals, experimentation, tech/challenge targets and repetition.
Next, we will turn to Doug Parsons. In addition to being an avid shooter, Doug is also an NSCA Level 1 Instructor and Certified CSM (Coordinated Shooting Method) Instructor. He can often be found at Deep River Sporting Clays and Shooting School ready to shoot a round or provide instruction! Doug has also been a tremendous asset to me in publishing this blog. I have never met anyone with the ability to proof read as well as Doug can. His edits have made these blog posts much more readable and meaningful as he also shares a love for psychology. Thanks Doug!
Here are Doug’s comments:
My shooting goals this year are simple…
1. Learn to shoot the Beretta 694 well (a challenge, given that it’s 3/4 of a pound heavier and fitted with a completely different type of trigger than what I’ve been shooting the past 5+ years).
2. Have more fun and try my best to live in the present while enjoying both the experience and the people.
3. Stop chasing punches and getting stressed over scores. Que sera’, sera’…
Goals, yes, but not so much quantifiable as they are an effort to add more quality to my life. The challenges of the past year have caused me to reevaluate and refocus on those things that are truly important to me.
I think both Grant and Doug did an admirable job assessing what their participation in their chosen recreational sport means to them, leading them to develop appropriate goals to assist them in achieving satisfaction from their chosen sport. Having more fun is really what it is all about! Thanks again to Grant and Doug for sharing publicly their thoughts. If anyone else would like to share their ideas on goal setting with the community, please let me know!