M
ost people who have
shot a bow long enough
have developed some
form of anxiety while aim-
ing. For many, this anxiety eventu-
ally leads to target panic, which de-
stroys their ability to make a good
shot and takes all the fun out of the
game. Even if it doesn’t turn into full-
blown target panic, anxiety will, at
the very least, cause them to antici-
pate the shot and freeze up during
execution.
Aiming anxiety is something I
deal with all the time, and it really
messes with my timing and execu-
tion — not to the point where I want
to “punch the trigger,” but enough
that I quit executing when my pin
leaves the middle of the target. This
causes a start-and-stop approach
that, in general, doesn’t work well
for an extended period of time. To
combat this, I’ve learned to focus
on one thing and let my shot hap-
pen on its own. I don’t want to be
forcing or overthinking anything
when it’s crunch time. That’s what
practice is for.
The goal for me is to have a quiet
mind. As I’ve written in the past, your
conscious mind can only do one
thing at a time, but your subcon-
scious can do hundreds. You want
to shoot in your subconscious. Ob-
viously, my best-case scenario is
to focus on aiming and let the rest
just happen, but when I feel anxiety
coming on, I have to switch to plan
B. Maybe it’s when I’m in the finals
for a national shoot, or when I have
to make a long shot on a giant buck
— that anxious feeling will normally
creep in when things really count.
I eventually figured out that if I
switch gears and keep my mind
occupied, I can make it through
tense moments unchanged, and
sometimes even shoot better in
those situations than the previous
shots. You might laugh, but my fa-
vorite thing to do is to draw my bow
and, as I’m anchoring, slowly say
the word “relax” in my head. Then,
as my pin settles (this is when the
anxiety normally sets in), I start to
say my ABCs slowly and drawn out
— A ... B ... C .... Then, without ef-
fort, bam, the shot will break. I’m
not thinking about the $20,000 rid-
ing on that arrow, or that the big-
gest buck of my life is about to walk
off into the brush. I’m saying my
ABCs and focusing on each letter
intently.
Anxiety while aiming is probably
the number one cause of target
panic. I’ve seen top competitors
do some crazy things to beat this,
and I’m one of them. I’ve heard of
people singing a song or saying a
phrase over and over. I say, tailor it
to whatever you need in order to
take your mind off what’s at stake.
One thing is for sure: If you focus
on how big the moment is and the
what ifs, you’re setting yourself up
for failure. When shots matter, focus
on something that doesn’t.
Avoiding Anxiety
09 • 2019
14 PETERSENÕS BOWHUNTING
When preparing to shoot, pro
archers may appear as if they
are completely focused on their
pin, the target and making the
shot. However, most are actually
reciting their ABCs, singing song
lyrics or doing something else to
prevent performance anxiety.
