As a confident , Type A personality its easy to gravitate towards phrases like “moderation’s for cowards” and “anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” I’m all for a little chest beating here and there but lately I’ve really been thinking about choices made as a younger man and I can’t seem to escape something. No I’m not traumatized by some story of personal public humiliation or severe failure. What I can’t get past is the several instances of becoming “burned out”.
Disregard any Cheech and Chong references you might be pulling out of the back of your mind. I’m not a burnout; rather, what I’m trying to describe is a feeling of massive overload from a hobby or passion. To better understand, have you ever jumped head first in to a sport and that’s all you thought about day and night, 24/7? I’m not saying just knowing the sport and liking it, I mean becoming absolutely addicted to it. You go completely out of your way to watch it, whether that means ordering the $250 a month sports package on DirectTV or befriending people you normally wouldn’t hang out with just because they have the channels.
Most of the time when you get that “bug” it starts to take over your life and you end up either: A. spending well beyond your means on it or B. devote way too much time to it. Regardless of whether you’re guilty of A, B or both, it ends up changing your normal functioning life for the worse. Similar to a domino effect, first you forego spending money on things like clothes and next thing you know you’re living in an abandoned house with Tyler Durden (Fight Club reference). Ok maybe not that bad but you get my point.
I can tell you after spending thousands of dollars on hobbies like building project cars, I’ve finally learned my lesson the hard way. And what lesson is that you ask? DON’T BURN YOURSELF OUT! Meaning as excited as you are to fully invest copious amounts of money, time and energy in to a new passion- chill the heck out, all this gear will still be there tomorrow!
I took that lesson to heart when it came to my obsession with guns. Seconds after pulling the trigger for the first time, I immediately went into full-blown addict mode. The flow of paychecks to pew pew’ing resembled a revolving door, and I quickly found myself falling down that same rabbit hole of shopaholic suffering. Thankfully I’m a wiser man now and realize now that all the impulse gear buying that we’re all guilty of at some point, is counterproductive. Whether you want to geek out like a tactical ninja and get the latest EDC polymer doohickeys, or your sights are set on making it as 3-Gun pro shooter, don’t burn yourself out.
Sure you could run out and put down the title of your car so you can have the new unobtanium coated 1911 blaster pistol you saw in Recoil Magazine, but realize that it isn’t going to automatically turn you into Jason Bourne. You become a better shooter by practicing and learning what works for you. Believe it or not Michael Jordan is one of the “great ones” not because he threw on a pair of Nike’s, but instead spent thousands of hours on the court honing his skill. So next time you even think about putting down that MasterCard, make sure it helps get you to that end result.
-As always guys be safe and shoot-em straight!
What have you burned out on before????
If it goes bang or has to deal with the outdoors then I am most likely passionate about it. If I'm not at the gun range then I'm either hiking, mountain biking or kayaking. Follow along as I dive into outdoor gear related products and topics.
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What have I burned out on before?
Guns, golf, paintball, guns, knives, saltwater aquariums, guns, import tuners, camping equipment, fly fishing, and last but not least… guns
As Ive gotten older Ive noticed that I have an obsessive compulsive disorder regarding most of my hobbies. If I like something I have to have the absolute best and I need it NOW. At 26 Ive owned probably close to 100 different guns throughout my relatively short lifetime. A few were gifts but no more than 10. Ive owned everything from NAA minis on up to Wilson Combat 1911s. I now have about 10 guns total in my safe. I want more much to my fiancé’s dismay, but Ive learned some moderation with age. I go through phases with firearms and my current one is a “consolidation” phase. Firearms of similar caliber in order to ease reloading as much as possible. Im still 26 and as such Im still admittedly less responsible than I should be and I still admittedly spend a lot more on guns than I should, but at least Ive mellowed with age. Its made enjoying what I have much easier and obtaining a new toy that much sweeter.
We sound very similar. It’s like if you like a hobby, you go “all in” or don’t do it at all. I’ve noticed too that although I still am obsessive over stuff, that little voice in the back of my head starts to take over more and more, talking me out of impulse buying.
Guns weapons my friend, 2 marriage’s and I was like this women have problems they did it was me. Mr fly by night rambo. 15 years later I Remarried 10 years and still love to hunt and shoot but love my wife and 3 daughter’s more this story brings back a ton of memories good and bad.
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve spent 25 years building a collection of mid level firearms ($1,000) or more mainley by trading up and trading up again, and I’m fortunate enough to have a wife who, within reason, supports my hobby.
However I’m done. I really don’t care what the market puts on the table this year or next year. What I have works just as good today as it did when it was brand new and I have some amazingly accurate handguns and even more accurate rifles. As Col Cooper stated on numerous occasions “there will always be something new but if what you have works, don’t try to fix it”, or words to that effect.
I could really use your wisdom!
This is me! Verbatim. It helps to see I’m not the only person going through it. My passion for firearms has consumed my finances. Now that I feel that I’m in a “happy place” I’m starting to over think how much ammo I have stocked. I’m either a zero or 100% guy, unfortunately, and trying to find a middle ground is tough. I know the ammo will be there tomorrow but that little voice says “buy it now!”. There has to be balance and I think after reading this article I might find the strength to balance things out.
It really is a huge dilemma, especially working for OpticsPlanet where I’m constantly surrounded by gear. If you do get that “buy it now” voice in your head for ammo, check out Freedom Munitions. They have some of the lowest prices on ammo and the folks working for them are top notch.
My wife asked you to publish this article, didn’t she?
Haha, I plead the fifth.
In the ADHD world we call that hyperfocus. Have you considered looking into it? Actually sounds more like addictive personality syndrome. Now I’m not a shrink, and I didn’t sleep at holiday inn express. But if it gets to the point of interfering with your home/professional life, you might think about that.
BEsides, if you have, and treat ADHD, your scores will DEFINITELY improve.
:-)
Been there done that as well when I first got in to it. Now I research & buy only what I want.