Expectations vs. Standards
We've been out at the range all week shooting pistols and rifles (finally!). We started before Thanksgiving for our intro and then this week we had practice Mon/Tues/Wed, pre-qualifications on Thurs and quals on Fri. They gave us a little log book to remind us of the fundamentals and keep track of scores and how we're shooting. Good times.
The quals go unqualified, Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert.
So I'm doing pretty well. I plot my shots like I'm supposed to, but I haven't been tallying my score, it's just a number and I didn't really want to know. The goal is to shoot as well as I can, but, of course, I really want to hit Expert. Who doesn't, right? The pistol is my favorite, when you do the speed reload, drop a magazine, slam in another, send the slide forward and fire off another three rounds...you feel like such a badass!
The guys started noticing, especially the one on my right and left on the line (go figure, as they're standing next to me). Right says he's never seen a female shoot Double Expert before and if I pull it off, he's buying me a shot of Jack. My response is, "If I'm shooting Double Ex, shouldn't it be a double shot?" He laughs, agrees, and it's on.
So I have a pseudo bet going. Competition is good, it can be healthy, keep the pressure on all week so qual day isn't all ramped up and overbearing. But I suck at trash talking, I manage to turn a friendly challenge into, "I don't have to shoot expert, I just have to shoot better than you."
Pre-Quals come quickly, the day is gorgeous and I'm ON it for the pistol. The minimum for Expert is 345 and I hit a 372, which the other girl in my group quickly told EVERYONE. Rifle wasn't as good as pistol, but I still hit Expert. But Right beat me by ONE point!
Okay, so no pressure, right? I'm going into quals with nowhere to go but down. And now, EVERYBODY knows not only about my pistol score but also about the bet. Even the coaches...Friday morning: not as cold as I thought it was going to be, but not as warm as Thurs. We get in line for ammo issue and my Captain comes over. "If you don't get the pistol high score for the company, I'm sending you to a board." Yeah, no pressure at all.
I have very high standards, both for me and the people around me. Always strive for the best, and even if you don't get it, you're probably going to land among them. High expectations, on the other hand, I hate. It's one of the reasons I didn't do well in middle/high school. If other people don't have high expectations of you, you won't disappoint and you are free to do as you wish. And I can beat myself up for not hitting my standards FAR better than anyone else can.
Going into quals, high standards and expectations. I dropped 20 points on the pistol and 3 on the rifle. Thus, Right beat me by 2 points on the pistol and 1 on the rifle. Now I'm a smuck because I'm miffed about not beating him, but still qualed Double Ex (thus, still win my shots of Jack) while there are guys who would kill for my score...
No more trash talking for me. I'm going to indulge in friendly banter, but my standards are my own, I don't need any more high expectations contributing to my stupid mistakes.
The quals go unqualified, Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert.
So I'm doing pretty well. I plot my shots like I'm supposed to, but I haven't been tallying my score, it's just a number and I didn't really want to know. The goal is to shoot as well as I can, but, of course, I really want to hit Expert. Who doesn't, right? The pistol is my favorite, when you do the speed reload, drop a magazine, slam in another, send the slide forward and fire off another three rounds...you feel like such a badass!
The guys started noticing, especially the one on my right and left on the line (go figure, as they're standing next to me). Right says he's never seen a female shoot Double Expert before and if I pull it off, he's buying me a shot of Jack. My response is, "If I'm shooting Double Ex, shouldn't it be a double shot?" He laughs, agrees, and it's on.
So I have a pseudo bet going. Competition is good, it can be healthy, keep the pressure on all week so qual day isn't all ramped up and overbearing. But I suck at trash talking, I manage to turn a friendly challenge into, "I don't have to shoot expert, I just have to shoot better than you."
Pre-Quals come quickly, the day is gorgeous and I'm ON it for the pistol. The minimum for Expert is 345 and I hit a 372, which the other girl in my group quickly told EVERYONE. Rifle wasn't as good as pistol, but I still hit Expert. But Right beat me by ONE point!
Okay, so no pressure, right? I'm going into quals with nowhere to go but down. And now, EVERYBODY knows not only about my pistol score but also about the bet. Even the coaches...Friday morning: not as cold as I thought it was going to be, but not as warm as Thurs. We get in line for ammo issue and my Captain comes over. "If you don't get the pistol high score for the company, I'm sending you to a board." Yeah, no pressure at all.
I have very high standards, both for me and the people around me. Always strive for the best, and even if you don't get it, you're probably going to land among them. High expectations, on the other hand, I hate. It's one of the reasons I didn't do well in middle/high school. If other people don't have high expectations of you, you won't disappoint and you are free to do as you wish. And I can beat myself up for not hitting my standards FAR better than anyone else can.
Going into quals, high standards and expectations. I dropped 20 points on the pistol and 3 on the rifle. Thus, Right beat me by 2 points on the pistol and 1 on the rifle. Now I'm a smuck because I'm miffed about not beating him, but still qualed Double Ex (thus, still win my shots of Jack) while there are guys who would kill for my score...
No more trash talking for me. I'm going to indulge in friendly banter, but my standards are my own, I don't need any more high expectations contributing to my stupid mistakes.