Mindset

The longer you’re in this community, the more you realize that there’s almost an overwhelming number of skills to learn. One of the biggest traps people fall into is trying to become a master of everything. Often that looks like learning infinite variations of each skill. I think this ultimately becomes a distraction, and prevents us from thinking about the bigger picture.

MLC, a long time reader and supporter, adds his thoughts on the idea of fun being allowed in the shooting sports. We often get too tied up in being too tactical, too serious, or too focused on winning the match. While firearms and competition are certainly serious pursuits, it’s easy to forget that we’re also the ambassadors of shooting for the next generation- and the best way to hook them is making it fun.

In session 005 of Marksman Live, Allison and I go through the mistakes I made in introducing her to shooting, and what lessons we can share with others about doing it better. There’s also the customary Q&A where we go on tangents about poor marketing to women and the zombie apocalypse.

In session 003, Allison and I talk about the underlying philosophy of The Everyday Marksman and why I believe in teaching tactical skills for all citizens is an important goal.

This is a short Mindset (with a bit of musing) of something that crossed my mind. I recently came across a video about our culture’s growing obsession with safety, and it made me think a bit about how humans are simply not built for safety. We’re built for danger, and we are at our best when we act like it.

Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

At its heart, The Everyday Marksman is about taking action. The more action you take, and the more wins you amass in the process, then the stronger your mindset becomes.

As Coach Lombardi put it, winning is a habit. So even if you have to start with small wins and slowly build up to big wins, that’s still building a habit towards success. For this challenge, you are going to set a goal, tell us about it, and then follow it through to completion.

The hard truth is that most of us in the shooting world have a poor mindset when it comes to how we buy gear. We prioritize the weapon’s capability over our own and then sacrifice our time and training as a result. We need to stop that.

Today we’re talking about mindset. Too many people have a bias towards the status quo, and it’s actively holding them back from reaching their goals. It’s not entirely their fault, though, because there’s a lot of systems trying to maintain that status quo.

This is a podcast episode from Jack Donovan’s Start the World. It’s a short listen at 10 minutes, but it’s totally worth it for the gut check on your fitness habits.

We’re getting philosophical for a bit. I’m filing this under the “Mindset” category because it has broad implications across many areas of life beyond just shooting, competition, or defense. In fact, I think this is one of the biggest cultural issues I see among gun owners in general.

Perception matters. This article is a discussion about navigating a continuum between “day to day” and “war is imminent” when it comes to the appearance of preparedness.

I don’t think many people bat an eye when they see someone practicing archery, fencing, or traditional forms of martial arts. We should be portraying marksmanship and the shooting sports in the same way.