Competition

I like competition. Not necessarily the kind of competition where you're competing against other people, although I certainly like competing with other people. No, I'm more interested in competing against myself. Having done something to some level of achievement, I like seeing if I can do myself one better.

This is why I like shooting competitions so much. Even though you're there on the line with 30 other people, you're only shooting against yourself. There's no sense of, "Oh, he's catching up to me, I'd better shoot a 10 on this next shot." Hell, if you can pull a 10 out of your ass like that, why not shoot 10's every time?

But beyond the goal of bettering yourself, there's something else I like about competitions. No matter if I'd had a crappy day, not matter if I'm pissed off at someone for something they did, when I step up to the line it all just drops away. For a while there, there's nothing but a front sight and a trigger. (Or a red dot and a trigger, or a crosshair and a trigger -- you get the idea.) And I usually find myself whistling in the car on the way home, having completely forgotten whatever it was that I was wound up about beforehand.