300 days to 300 – Day 72 update

My word of the week is “FOCUS”; as in don’t do what I did last update and lose focus so easily.  The last update was definitely an example of what happens when form and focus do not peak together.  My form felt good, the release was good, but without being able to consistently focus on aiming and putting the pin where it should be, the good form was squandered on poor shots.

The last couple of weeks have seen me taking a few minutes here and there at work, home or just about anywhere and doing nothing but focusing on a dot, a speck, a miniature version of a Vegas face or anything else.  This simple exercise seems easy, but for me, with my wandering mind, it can be very difficult.  By forcing myself to do absolutely nothing but focus I am training my conscious mind to settle in and forget about everything else.  To aim well, this is a necessary thing to master.

This target and the results were a good learning experience for me.  The first shot is the one hitting the two black rings; some fool forgot to extend his sight and lock it in place!  The rest of the green warm-up shots consisted of three marginal 10s and two 9s.  I was focusing so hard on focusing that I couldn’t focus!  That may sound confusing but that’s exactly what happened.  After those two rounds I had to sit down and pull my mind back where it needed to be and relax.

Once I had relaxed and was able to properly focus, things when quite well.  There were a few tens on the line, but a lot of Xs as well.  During the seventh end I realized that I hadn’t missed the ten ring since the practice ends.  At this point I got over-excited, lost my focus and threw my second shot high and left.  So much for keeping it together.  This shot ruffled me and the next shot flew high right.  Up to that point I had been doing great and then dropped two points in a row due to not relaxing and doing what I had practiced.

The first shot of the eighth end was nearly perfect and then on the second shot I remembered how I had messed up the previously end and promptly did the same thing again; unbelievable!  At this point I took about sixty seconds, breathed in as deep as possible a few times, settled down and shot four Xs to finish the round.

This round ended up being a great victory and a great defeat at the same time.  I showed myself that I can tighten the groups, hit more Xs and generally shoot better when the focus is in the right place and relaxed.  However, I also showed exactly what happens when that focus is lost and everything falls apart.  I’ve learned my lessons and should be better prepared for the next scoring round.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• 300 days to 300 – Day 7 update
• 300 days to 300 – Day 56 update
• 300 days to 300 – Day 112 update
• 300 days to 300 – Day 84 update
• 300 days to 300 – Day 14 update