The reason for this post is to vent a little!, the point is to enjoy your shooting comrades,the ability to shoot in competition,relax, and be objective! I shot in a 25m match today and shot terrible... then got frustrated! That led to my demise! If I would have only listened to my own advise...
Wise words.
I shot "one shot" centerfire benchrest competition for a while. Not for "group", but honest one shot, closest to center takes the pot. Some of the pots were rather handsome and I supplanted a low paying entry level job for a while with a 30BR. More specifically, we shot for cash and sometimes I made more with a single shot than I did after clocking 40 hours at my day job.
The learning curve was a little steep, and expensive, but all things take time. After a while, I was dominating the field without any undue effort on my part. (Ancedote.....we , meaning all of us, sent an honest to god Alphabet org sniper home with his tail between his legs. His parting words were something along the line of bringing his team up there to see how it's done. He never returned, though).
I can't say my shooting declined. But suddenly, I wasn't winning anymore. This game was measured in thousandths of an inch, and well....I was consistently a couple or more thousandths out. After a while it seemed that anyone who showed up armed with anything other than an irregular shaped rock was going to beat me.
I wish I could say I simply lost interest and walked away. But that's not true. I became frustrated and just quit.
When I break into the gun-safe for the occasional PM cleaning, I often look at that 30BR , gathering dust, and remember the good old days. Health and eyesight won't let me recapture them.
Point being.....the good old days are now. Don't let them slip away.