What are you thinking

I have reached a plateau in my shooting. Low expert scores and erratic from string to string. I starting to question what my brain is thinking or shouldn't be thinking in firing a good shot and trying to find a solution. My conscious brain starts to take over the process and I shoot a bad target right after a good one for no reason. How do you make the unconscious control what happens ?
Scott

Scott,
Quiet mind helps a bunch.

We need to train fundamentals individually.
When we shoot focus on one thing and subconscious will do the other fundamentals for you.
Shot plan/process should be short; KISS principle.

Conscious mind can focus on one thing. Most focus on trigger squeeze with red dot or front sight with irons. Your stance was consciously gotten into, your pistol was consciously gripped, your breathing typically subconsciously applied, your aiming either subconsciously or consciously and trigger pull most likely consciously.

Don’t hold too long! Your mind can start getting too active/distracted. Squeeze the trigger with purpose or plan. Stick to the plan/process.

It’s really that simple.

Most overcomplicate the process and it takes too long or is to busy.

Simple works the best. The conscious mind will get in the way of your subconscious mind. That’s common error we all battle.

You have to train the same way you shoot your match. Makes it easier to replicate all the time because it’s the same. Repeatable!

Jon

Thanks for the reply Jon, I will apply your tips and see what happens.
Scott

I notice as I get older, I'm having trouble maintaining focus. I'm aiming, thinking about the shot, and pizza pops into my head or some other obscure bit.

The shot should get the same amount of thinking as scratching your nose.

Scott, to overcome this plateau, focus on consistent mental routines and visualization. Practice mindfulness to quiet your conscious thoughts during each shot, allowing your trained skills to flow naturally. Consider seeking guidance from a sports psychologist or coach for personalized strategies.

whitel wrote:Scott, to overcome this plateau, focus on consistent mental routines and visualization. Practice mindfulness to quiet your conscious thoughts during each shot, allowing your trained skills to flow naturally. Consider seeking guidance from a sports psychologist or coach for personalized strategies.

An old friend was on the Army's Olympic team-his teacher was a guy who was into Zen, and gave him a lot of
meditation tricks to use. One was when vertically stringing shots to focus on the sight picture, close you eyes and fire-it worked for me.
I taught meditation in prisons and in the public for 30 years, keeping your mind focused requires practice, 
like the old master said: attention, attention attention!
If you want to get into holding your mind still, the best book I have run across is Meditation for Dummies-it
is not religious, but has a lot of good stuff in it, and used to have a dvd that came with it.
Jon said it: practice one thing over and over and over and over and over ....