Which would you rather be? Most of you will answer, of course, “guaranteed to win.” I submit to you however, there is no such thing. I know, some will say “if you do the work,” “prepare to the point you can not fail,” etc. etc., but the reality is you are never guaranteed to win. You simply can not control the variables that end up dictating who does win. You can not control your opponent. All you can control is you! And that is what this short motivation piece is about.
It is February 2nd, 2019 as I write this and many of you that read it likely have a competitive shooting season ahead of you. As I mentioned above, you are never guaranteed to win, but can you be prepared to win? Of course! That should be your mindset. What did you do TODAY to assure you will be prepared to win? By the way, if you are the defensive shooter reading this…do you think the same rule apply to you? Damn right they do! So, once again what have you done to prepare?
Let me stimulate your thought process a different way. How do we in essence develop a “to do” list of things we need to do in order to prepare us to win? The answer is to look at the future winner, and dissect the elements that made that person. In shooting, it might consist of highly refined manipulation skills (draw, reload, etc), high level of shooting skill (the ability to shoot the gun fast and accurately), solid mental toughness (to deal with pressure), and a deep pool of experience (seasoned in playing the game).
So, how do we get those elements? I really don’t think I need to tell you. I think you know. You know that to refine your draw and reloads and manipulation skills you need to practice them. Get up early and work. You know to be a better shooter, you need to hit the range. Stop making excuses and find money to buy the ammunition and go. You know that experience comes from shooting matches. So skip the golf game or sleeping in and hit your club matches for the next three months. The point is.. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I will close with this. What if you end up doing everything you can…and you do not win? GOOD (as Jocko would say)! Because you never lose, you either win or learn. The single greatest shooters on the planet have attended national championships “prepared to win” and yet still got beat. Do you expect some magical guarantee? It does not exist. You WIN or LEARN. Never quit!
The question I have for you this morning is: Will you do it? Only you can answer. If you do, and you can honestly say to yourself (BE HONEST!) that you did, then when the time comes to compete at your highest level, you will know you did everything within your ability to be prepared to win. Winning will not be guaranteed, but I promise your chances went up dramatically.
Until Then – Train Hard!
Mike S.
