Due to my awesome writing and editing skills, I left out a chunk of my last post. If you wondered why it read so awkwardly, that’s probably why. One of these days I will hire an editor who knows how to edit, but until then, you will have to put up (or not) with my subpar skills and attention.
During the Friday night lecture of the Dialed In Class, Justin covered many interesting topics related to training and performance. One that resonated with me is the concept of the critic, coach, or charlatan (3 C’s) and I have used it in my teaching already. The basic premise is that each of us reacts to our own mistakes in training in one of these ways. If you are the critic (and who isn’t much of the time?) then you berate yourself for your mistakes. If you are the coach, you talk yourself into a better performance for the next run. If you are a charlatan, sometimes called a cheerleader, you tell yourself that you are doing great no matter what.
Which of those three characters would provide the best result? Obviously, the coach, yet many of us can’t coach ourselves effectively. We would never criticize or berate a student, friend, or loved one for a simple issue like missing a shot, but we are merciless towards ourselves. This model has allowed me to get a better handle on my own training and has also already helped some of the shooters I work with to realize a better way to talk to themselves.
The charlatan concept is a very interesting one as there are a few facets to it. At first, I despised the idea of cheerleading when you fail. Believing you are great at something when the facts say the opposite, is the definition of a charlatan (in the context of self-talk). I thought this mindset represented much of the shooting world that thinks about the 20% when asked about the 100%.
100%, 80%, and 20% is another area Justin talked about, and it relates pretty well to the 3 C’s. In short, 100% is what you can do every time no matter what. 80% is what you can do, well, most of the time. 20% is the performance you can pull off only very occasionally. If you look at the FAST test as an example, I can guarantee a sub-6-second run 100% of the time. I’ve never measured that aspect so that is a guess, just for this example. 80% of the time (maybe 90%), I can do a sub-5-second run. That is based on my actual runs over time. 20% of the time I can pull off a very low 4-second run or less.
If you ask the internet what their FAST time is, you will usually get the 20% time. But, are they inflating their ability, or are they just thinking about it differently? To relate this back to the 3 C’s, I can see where being a cheerleader might be useful in developing your self-image as a shooter, and that may make it more likely for you to perform at a higher level some of the time. Self-image is another important aspect of performance but we will not go into that now.
So, is cheerleading a useful mental model for dealing with failure? I’m certainly not convinced of that at all, but I can see where a small amount could be useful to supplement coaching. Much like we do when working with others.
Being the critic, in small amounts, is also a useful mode. If you can honestly criticize yourself very quickly (sometimes called failing fast), then coach yourself to do better, all the while cheerleading your efforts, I think you probably have a solid way of talking to yourself and improving your performance.
Justin’s drills supported thinking about your training and performance in these ways, as well as other concepts he talked about. Throughout the class, students would comment on how one aspect or another came to them during a drill. As I’ve said before, if you have a chance to take a class with Justin, jump on it.