Why is it so Hard for Experienced Shooters to Improve?

Published on August 27, 2015
Duration: 5:16

Chris Sajnog, author of 'Navy SEAL Shooting', explains why experienced shooters struggle to improve. He identifies three key reasons: cognitive dissonance, the challenge of moving ingrained subconscious skills back to conscious thought for refinement, and the discomfort of being a 'new guy' again. Sajnog advises fighting cognitive bias, pushing through temporary performance dips when learning new techniques, and embracing the beginner's mindset to achieve higher skill levels.

Quick Summary

Experienced shooters often plateau due to cognitive dissonance, the mental resistance to new techniques. Learning requires bringing subconscious skills back to conscious thought, causing a temporary performance dip. Embracing the 'new guy' mindset and pushing through these challenges is key to breaking through plateaus and achieving higher proficiency.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Introduction & Book Promotion
  2. 00:36The Plateau for Experienced Shooters
  3. 00:54Reason 1: Cognitive Dissonance
  4. 01:44Reason 2: Subconscious to Conscious Skill Transfer
  5. 02:12Impact of Imperfect Subconscious Skills
  6. 02:58Overcoming the Performance Dip
  7. 03:31Reason 3: Being the New Guy Again
  8. 04:03The Importance of Humility in Learning
  9. 04:26Summary of Three Improvement Tips
  10. 04:49Conclusion and Call to Action

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cognitive dissonance in the context of shooting?

Cognitive dissonance for shooters is the mental resistance to new techniques or information that conflicts with what they already believe or have ingrained. It's your mind's natural tendency to fight against learning something different, even if it's better.

Why does learning a new shooting technique initially make me shoot worse?

When you learn a new technique, you must bring ingrained subconscious skills back to conscious thought for refinement. This requires extra mental effort, making shooting feel cumbersome and leading to a temporary dip in performance until the new skill becomes subconscious again.

What does Chris Sajnog mean by 'being the new guy again' for experienced shooters?

It means setting aside pride and being willing to be a beginner when learning new skills. Experienced shooters must be open to instruction, accept that they might perform poorly initially, and embrace the learning process without ego to achieve true improvement.

How can experienced shooters overcome skill plateaus?

To overcome plateaus, experienced shooters must fight cognitive dissonance, push through the temporary performance dip when learning new techniques, and embrace the humility of being a beginner. This allows for the integration of better skills.

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