What Discourages You?

[dan]

Really the bottom line is we as hunters decide whether we are discouraged or not... We choose to be happy, sad, or angry... Its all in the way we look at things. Positive attitude is SO IMPORTANT. When I go out hunting and have a close encounter with a target buck, I am happy I seen him, I am encouraged that Im getting closer. I see other guys get angry cause the chance slipped away, and frustrated thinking they failed...

When others hunt and see "nothing" they feel a day wasted... They are frustrated that they did something wrong. They dwell on it... I go out and have an enjoyable day in the woods and never see "nothing". I can scratch that spot off the list moving me one more notch closer to the kill...

Easy to preach, hard to teach... Its all about attitude.

When your frustrated you dwell on the negatives. You miss out on the adventure and the sheer awesomeness of the great outdoors. You are not concentrating on what you can learn from the experience. Your also bringing down those around you.

There is no such thing as a bad hunt. Well maybe if you get hurt or die... But that day you were lost and wandering around the swamp 1/2 the night, well I bet you smile now and tell a great story... I would personally rather be wandering around a swamp right now, lost, hauling all my gear in freezing rain, knee deep in muck, wind blasting, flashlight dead, blackness, cell phone dead, then sitting hear in a cozy warm office desk typing this sipping coffee... Lifes about adventure, its about over coming adversity, about not backing down.

Your not going to change your attitude over night.... But knowing that it is a problem that is hurting your hunting is the 1st step. Time to start attempting to turn it around.

[stash59]

Nothing feels better to me when my back gets hinky than a gymnastics bridge. I do a few a day as preventative maintenance.

Video or it didn't happen.

There will never be a video of me doing this on the Beast

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/bridge

It's really not that hard and it feels great.

Holy crap!! I'd break my neck trying to do that right now.

[stash59]

Really the bottom line is we as hunters decide whether we are discouraged or not... We choose to be happy, sad, or angry... Its all in the way we look at things. Positive attitude is SO IMPORTANT. When I go out hunting and have a close encounter with a target buck, I am happy I seen him, I am encouraged that Im getting closer. I see other guys get angry cause the chance slipped away, and frustrated thinking they failed...

When others hunt and see "nothing" they feel a day wasted... They are frustrated that they did something wrong. They dwell on it... I go out and have an enjoyable day in the woods and never see "nothing". I can scratch that spot off the list moving me one more notch closer to the kill...

Easy to preach, hard to teach... Its all about attitude.

When your frustrated you dwell on the negatives. You miss out on the adventure and the sheer awesomeness of the great outdoors. You are not concentrating on what you can learn from the experience. Your also bringing down those around you.

There is no such thing as a bad hunt. Well maybe if you get hurt or die... But that day you were lost and wandering around the swamp 1/2 the night, well I bet you smile now and tell a great story... I would personally rather be wandering around a swamp right now, lost, hauling all my gear in freezing rain, knee deep in muck, wind blasting, flashlight dead, blackness, cell phone dead, then sitting hear in a cozy warm office desk typing this sipping coffee... Lifes about adventure, its about over coming adversity, about not backing down.

Your not going to change your attitude over night.... But knowing that it is a problem that is hurting your hunting is the 1st step. Time to start attempting to turn it around.

[briar]

Dan you are right. It is a choice and a decision to be happy. I think what kills my hunting enjoyment is pressure, not hunting. Hunting just gets the blame because its that one more thing i do and add to a pressure cooker life. Its the straw that breaks the camels back. I shouldnt blame hunting, i need to blame everything else.

[dan]

Dan you are right. It is a choice and a decision to be happy. I think what kills my hunting enjoyment is pressure, not hunting. Hunting just gets the blame because its that one more thing i do and add to a pressure cooker life. Its the straw that breaks the camels back. I shouldnt blame hunting, i need to blame everything else.

I wasn't trying to single you out... But life is short, there are things that are much more important than hunting or work deadlines.

[Jonny]

Dan you are right. It is a choice and a decision to be happy. I think what kills my hunting enjoyment is pressure, not hunting. Hunting just gets the blame because its that one more thing i do and add to a pressure cooker life. Its the straw that breaks the camels back. I shouldnt blame hunting, i need to blame everything else.

Best advice I ever got was from my adviser for college. Find a hobby you love, and don't spend your life studying or working. I have seen lots of guys come and go who strictly focus on school, and forget to have a life. In the end, they just fall apart and can't handle it. You need to have something that makes you happy in your life and gets your mind off the stresses in life. I go hunting or fishing pretty much every weekend of the year, and go on 1-2 dates a week with my girlfriend. Does my schoolwork suffer a bit? Maybe, but in the end, I am doing what makes me happy, while also maximizing my return on my education. I don't work during the school year. Could I? Sure. But to me, my time during the school year is more valuable than what most jobs would pay me right now.

Like dan said, life is too short to be miserable. Do the things you love while you can. I know lots of people who live in regret because they didn't do the things they wanted to when they were younger. Whether that be not going to college, having kids, living in an area they don't want to, poor job choice, etc. Do what makes you happy.

Don't worry briar. I guarantee lots of people go through issues like this. I have for the last couple of years. Just makes you a better person in the end

[briar]

The funny thing is what really brought this home was watching marsh bucks for the first time yesterday. Seeing video of dan spotting at 12, 1, 3 AM and thinking that i would never have the chance to do that and it made me kinda sad. Nothing makes me happier and respect people more than 100,% commitment and effort no matter the activity. .when i know i cant give that it just makes me disappointed and therefor discouraged.

So much respect to those that have found their place or at least balance.