On Competition:

Pete Wass

Pete Wass

Well-known member
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."

This is pretty much how I have always felt about competing, in general. If one thinks about it a little, we are only as good at anything as we can make ourselves be. We have no control of how our fellow competitors perform. This is why I have always abhorred the breast beating that goes on about competition. It's all up to us and the choices WE make, not the other guy. We are the master of our fate, as was written a long time ago.

Pete
 
Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."



Pete
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Pete…..The above quote sounds like the unpublicized motto of our beloved Professional Football Team….The DALLAS COWBOYS" Their record speaks for itself. They have been playing by this motto for the last 20 years:(:(:(:(.


PS…...There is much truth in your observations about competition in individual Sports like Benchrest.



Glenn
 
Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."


Sorry but we don't play that way in the SE, we play hard ball down here. At the end of the day----There is a WINNER!

The rest of us? Well, thank goodness we can find solace in beating ol what's his name.

BTW- beating ol what's his face? Well that would have been me at the last match, I was dead last.
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CharlieH said:
Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."


Sorry but we don't play that way in the SE, we play hard ball down here. At the end of the day----There is a WINNER!

The rest of us? Well, thank goodness we can find solace in beating ol what's his name.
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Me & you Charlie. When winning no longer matters we'll stop keeping score. Another thing I've observed it that folks who don't admit to caring whether they win or lose.....always lose.

Rick
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CharlieH said:
Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."


Sorry but we don't play that way in the SE, we play hard ball down here. At the end of the day----There is a WINNER!

The rest of us? Well, thank goodness we can find solace in beating ol what's his name.
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Sez a lot about personality types, I think. The reality is we never beat anybody but ourselves.

Pete
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Pete Wass said:
.... We have no control of how our fellow competitors perform. ...
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Some try. This made me think of a particularly competitive local shooter who would say to the shooter leading the match going into the last target, "Man, let me shake your hand! You've got this match won!" Y'all know who I mean!
 
I strive to be perfect! I know that, that is the most unlikely outcome (can't bring myself to say impossible lol) If I strive to be perfect I am demanding that any person who is competing against me do the same. If I win I am happy, but until the score is perfect I can't be satisfied. I am very competitive by nature, but worrying about what the other guy does is something I left behind me a long time ago.
 
dragman you are right, don't worry about the other guy just what you have accomplished. And know you have learned something different every day. If I win its another feather in my cap, or pin. The other guy isn't making me lose its something I did.

Joe Salt
 
Shooting against myself is what I do in practice, but when I go to a match, I'm trying to beat you. If I succeed, that's great! If I don't, I'll gladly, and genuinely congratulate you.
 
Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."

This is pretty much how I have always felt about competing, in general. If one thinks about it a little, we are only as good at anything as we can make ourselves be. We have no control of how our fellow competitors perform. This is why I have always abhorred the breast beating that goes on about competition. It's all up to us and the choices WE make, not the other guy. We are the master of our fate, as was written a long time ago.

Pete
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Whenever I'm competing I always try to better my smallest group or my highest score and then let the chips fall where they may. The rest of the match is spent swapping stories and having fun with my shooting buddies who for the most part have admitted they do the same.

There will continue to be one or two who's self esteem seems to rise and fall with each shot. The ones who never seem to have fun and the first to tell you they beat you on anyone target or relay. Life's too short to embrace a mental roller coaster of self worth. :)
 
Pressure makes some people do better, and too much can make some fall apart, choke. Whoever said that you have no control over how well the other fellow does is obviously too highly principled to play the mind games that are common to most forms of competition. One time I told a young neighbor, that played a little golf with friends, that he should turn the conversation to how far a ball could be driven, but remember to swing "pretty" (for best form) instead of his hardest, and that by doing it that way, he could gain a few strokes advantage on his friends. He looked a little puzzled, so the advice may not have penetrated.
 
abintx said:
There will continue to be one or two who's self esteem seems to rise and fall with each shot. The ones who never seem to have fun and the first to tell you they beat you on anyone target or relay. Life's too short to embrace a mental roller coaster of self worth. :)
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There's nothing better than hitting the game-winning shot, or making that last-lap pass for the win, in front of a cheering crowd. For those who played high school, college or pro sports, you probably miss that. BR isn't a spectator sport, but there is still "thrill of victory" and "agony of defeat" in it. Kept in perspective, losing is a great motivator. And it makes the peak of the roller coaster ride that much sweeter. I guess what I am saying is that some just enjoy competition, including all its ups and downs.
 
On Competition

Pete Wass said:
I saw the following quote on Facebook this morning: "I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday."

This is pretty much how I have always felt about competing, in general. If one thinks about it a little, we are only as good at anything as we can make ourselves be. We have no control of how our fellow competitors perform. This is why I have always abhorred the breast beating that goes on about competition. It's all up to us and the choices WE make, not the other guy. We are the master of our fate, as was written a long time ago.

Pete
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"I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than I was yesterday".

There is a big difference between Team Sports and individual Sports like Benchrest Competition. Let it be known that you're not "in it to win it' in team sports and you will be kicked off the team and rightfully so. The team is counting on you to be competitive and help win the game.

In Benchrest Competition,you decide how you want to play the game. I have noticed that some of the biggest contributors to the Sport of Benchrest are the men and women who seldom win much of anything. People who like the fellowship and fun aspect of the game. As pete says, "Its all up to us and the choices we make". Winning,to some is a relative term.


Glenn
 
Competition has driven quest for the equipment we enjoy today. If the wind isn't blowing, I don't even bother going. I don't have to compete to enjoy the challenge of precision shooting, but I also know that anything is easy until you have to do it better than someone else.
 
When I go to a match I firmly believe I am there to win, and I am fully capable of doing that when I do "MY" part, no matter what the other competitors do. I also live in the real world and after 30 years in the Corps I fully realize that these targets we shoot at don't shoot back, and a WIN or a loss to me personally doesn't really mean a damn thing in the big picture.

Roland
 
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