John Wooden said it best: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” Applying this principle in the heat of competition, or during a frustrating practice session, separates archers who plateau from those who keep progressing.
This week’s School of Nock homework is simple: FOCUS your mental energy ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL and stop wasting it on what you can’t. That arrow you sent into the five ring, over a deer’s back, into the grass, or into the door in your basement is gone. You’ve let it loose and it’s now history. The questionable call on a liner didn’t go your way, well, that’s history, too. Learn from history, but don’t dwell on it.
The arrows still sitting in your quiver are yours to direct.
When Stamina Catches Up With Ability
I’m several weeks into my winter training now, and it took a while to hit a different gear.
Early on, my lefts and rights were all over the place. I was falling out the bottom on my last arrows as my stamina couldn’t keep pace with what I was asking my body to do.
My stamina is finally catching up with my ability. I had to exercise patience to let it catch up.
I’m having better practice sessions, and I can maintain form through my entire training block instead of watching my groups open up late. If you’re struggling with the same fade, it’s worth looking at how you create a sustainable practice setup. Give yourself more rest before that last arrow so you have control over what it’s doing.
The Lesson Tim Strickland Taught Me
Years ago, I was at a tournament and put one in a 5 instead of the 12 ring. I came completely unglued. I lost my composure, let frustration take over, and it affected the rest of my shooting.
At the end of that event, a coach who wasn’t even working with me came up and changed my whole approach to competition. He was there coaching Jack Wallace at the time.
Tim Strickland looked at me and said, “Dudley, you will never progress as an archer if you let the arrows that are not in your quiver affect the ones that still are in your quiver.”
Once you’ve sent an arrow downrange and it’s out, you don’t have control over that result anymore. Same is true when it’s in the 10. Don’t spend time thinking about what has already been, because you have more to do. More to send.
What you do have control over is what happens when you pull those arrows from the target, put them back in your quiver, and step to the line again. Focus on what those arrows are going to do, not on what those arrows did.
Dwelling on the past digs you a deeper hole if you are struggling. You don’t want to dwell on an arrow that’s already gone when you’ve got more arrows to shoot. If frustration has ever snowballed on you mid-event, I’ve talked more about resetting your mental approach.
Prepare for the Call That Won’t Go Your Way
Another coach gave me advice that took this concept even further for competition. When you put one close, right on the line where it could score either direction, you’re at the mercy of other people in your group or a judge making that call. You are at the roulette table taking a chance on an outcome that’s not yours to make anymore.
His advice: Go into every event with the mindset that not every arrow call is going to go your way. Expect the house to win, not you!
Count on one call not going your way at every tournament, and when it happens, you’re prepared. You can look at it and say, “All right, I knew I was going to get screwed once. There it is. Got that out of the way.” Then you move on with full focus on the arrows you still have to shoot.
When I started applying this mindset, I stopped worrying about calls I couldn’t control. I stopped dwelling on arrows that have already left my bow. I focused all my positive attention on one thought: The rest of these suckers better be going in the middle, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do with them.
The same is true when heading to a hunt or an event when Mother Nature has the control. If you have 90-degree temps and a full moon during the week of rut, then expect some shitty days in the stand. Let go of what you can’t control and just lock in on being ready for one moment of truth and make your shot count!
You start thinking that way, and when you pick up your bow and send arrows downrange, you’re going to have a better outcome. I go deeper on how to perform under real pressure if you want to take this further.
Your School of Nock Homework
Here’s your assignment for the week: Dedicate your practice to not focusing on what you have no control over. Put all your focus on what you can control. Every rep you take with that focus is a chance to program your mind for success.
When you send one that isn’t where you wanted it, let it go. The only arrows that matter are the ones still in your quiver.
Those are yours. Those you can control.
