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skybytch

Are you a "goal oriented" skydiver?

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Anyone else noticed this in themselves or in others?




No.


Yes.


Sometimes.


Maybee.....



I dunno, sometimes yes, like working on a big way, or getting the swoop just right, throwing a new trick, getting a rating.


Other times it's just fun. Nothing planned or on the horrizon.
----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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I am an Intensly Goal-Oriented person. I'm a stubborn asshole sometimes because I tend to be internally driven.
Yes, I learned a while ago that it was my pursuite of various goals that kept me pushing so hard in the sport. There are some days that I've wanted to go out and spend the afternoon on the Lake, but I've always got something to work on. Right now, I'm working to get myself at the Competitive level of RW.
Sometimes I become very discouraged with this. I take everything so Freaking seriously, It's hard for me to relax and just go out, jump, and have fun. I come across as an uptight jerk. Accomplishing the next goal is too important. [:/]
I may need to call upon my DZ.com friends I've met here at Rantoul - I need some low-stress fun jumps. :)
=========Shaun ==========


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With skydiving, I feel kinda lost.



Get involved. It doesn't always have to be about the goal, and you can learn an awful lot through osmosis on "fun" jumps. GEt together with a local organizer and go on some 6, 7, 8, way type stuff. It might not be the most sucessfull jump, but it will be fun, and it will teach you something.



I do learn a little from each jump, but I feel like I could learn more if I had one particular skill to focus on at that time.


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Sometimes learning isn't that structured. Camps and clinics are great for what they are, but damn, sometime you don't need to be debriefed, reviewed, videoed, picked apart, and anyalized.



I don't want to be debriefed all the time, I just want a skill set to work on rather than to just have my goal to be "be a better flyer". I need to know how.

***
Next time you see me at Perris, lets make a load. We'll grab 2 or 3 others that wanna have some fun, slap on the grippers, and go. When all is said and done, you'll probably walk away knowing just a little more, but also having had a GREAT day. And sometimes THAT'S what it's all about.



ok! lets do it. I'll be at Perris on the 24th.

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I'm very non-acheivement oriented when I skydive. Most skydivers I run into seem like they're competing against themselves, they're sort of on a strict path to become better and better. I can understand that desire, but don't share in it. Some of them don't really grok that and it's caused a little friction for me now and again.

I do have loose set goals, but they're mostly skills or abilities I'm looking to improve on to make myself safer or to open up new areas of the sport. If you wanna freefly you gotta learn to sit. If you wanna skyfly you have to be a skilled tracker, and so on. So you can't not have goals if you want to do more than fly on your belly solo.

I spent a large part of my life driving myself on goals and it had a destructive impact on my life that still follows me. Skydiving for me is, as totalwreck put it, pure therapy.

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I'm the same way Mark.
Goals are cool until you forget the real reason why you skydive.And if a goal not achieved brings you down so bad, then that's not good.
Keeping life and skydiving SIMPLE and FUN is my main goal.
Achieving the above is sometimes complicated and well ..not so fun.
Right now i just want to have a good time at the dz. Jump with newbies and pros alike on a random basis.
A friend asked me this Spring what my skydive goals this summer were. I said "this summer i have no goals. I just want to have fun with what i know." So I'm out for the summer from a bicycle injury. See it didn't matter in the long run anyway.

Goals are great. They are what made you what you are today. Just don't lose sight of the fun and pure enjoyment of it all.


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I love this question because it fits in exactly with what I've been thinking about. I am NOT a goal-oriented jumper -- I jump for the pure relaxation of it. There is nothing better than getting out that door to clear your head. For me, it's pure therapy. Sure, I had the goal of getting licensed and I do want to improve some basic skills, but I'm not interested in learning something new on every jump (or even most jumps). I say this with the knowledge that I may get flamed for being unsafe because I'm not constantly pushing to "get better." I consider myself very safe and certainly know my limitations and believe I jump within those.



I agree 100% with you. Of course, when there is a particular "goal" like, for example jump from an unusual plane, join a different formation, jump with someone special, learn a new skill, try something out of the usual routine, etc. it adds up to my joy in the sport. As you say, "There is nothing better than getting out that door to clear your head" and that is certainly more than enough. Add the friends and it turns out to be great. Add specific goals as mentioned and it turns to be perfect. Do I need goals to enjoy skydiving? No. Do goals add to the fun? Yes.



HISPA # 18 POPS # 8757

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I would say my current goals are towards instructional ratings. Next week I'm getting my coach's rating and would like to follow that with a S/L rating sometime this winter. I think helping new skybums learn to fly is really cool. It's lots of fun to jump on those big ways or do a double digit point four way, but it's also a lot of fun to jump with new jumpers who are still working on figuring out their fall rate and how to not back slide.

Oh, and I'm ticking off the days until I can strap on a pair of wings and really fly! 116 down, 84 to go!



I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

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As you say, "There is nothing better than getting out that door to clear your head



another spin - There's nothing like clearing your head past the door to get out of that plane.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

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I'm with Diablopilot on this one.

I'm now rated in all 4 methods of instruction, so the other day I looked up the I/E requirements. I'd like to get into some more bigway stuff, so I usually try to "shop" myself when jumping with big name organizers. I find my goals of being a competitive swooper and of being a good example for my students to be in conflict with each other...still trying to resolve that one but flying solid patterns in the interim. Still, other times it's just about goofing off. It was 105 degrees here yesterday, so when I got off work I went to the DZ and made a hop & pop at 10,500 with a nice cold beverage to enjoy during my descent. Nothing to learn or work towards on that jump, just relaxing and getting some air. I'd say I'm working toward something (improved skills, better student, etc) on probably 75% of my jumps, with the other 25% simply being low-pressure exercises in fun & relaxation.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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I have always been goal oriented as skydiving goes. I have been blessed with being able to achieve my goals successfully over the years. As a matter of fact, I am nearly to the point that all of my goals have been reached . . . I'll need to sit down and look at what's next for me.

The last goal on my list will hopefully be complete in September. Knowing me, I'll have a new list in place before Christmas! :S
Arrive Safely

John

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Goals...At one point I wanted to be standing on a podium while the National Anthem played behind me.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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Goals...At one point I wanted to be standing on a podium while the National Anthem played behind me.



1 - Bring a podium to a baseball game (find/build a small one)
2 - Place it in front of your seat
3 - When they play the anthem stand on it and face the people behind you

good luck

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

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In Reply To
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Goals...At one point I wanted to be standing on a podium while the National Anthem played behind me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1 - Bring a podium to a baseball game (find/build a small one)
2 - Place it in front of your seat
3 - When they play the anthem stand on it and face the people behind you

good luck



Now I see why you have a Masters degree...

So simple, I have wasted 11 years and over 60,000.00

I am such a fool.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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For the most part I am goal oriented and looking for what is 'next'. So many people inspire me and I want to be able to do what they do. Once I 'get' one skill I want to build on it and master it. Although 'mastering' is quite a long term goal for anything at this point! :P I think it is exciting to bust out a kick-ass 4 way, be part of a bigway, do some freeflying and work on my newest challenge, headdown.
I also like to go have fun, geek my friends in the sky and go out with low time jumpers. Skydiving is definately a release for me, it's my time away from the real world.

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I would say that I am somewhat goal orientated. I have different levels of goals though. Broad ones, like become a better skydiver, and more specific ones, like get good at front float.

The broad ones that I have are more my own and I have them because I know there is a direction that I want to go and it gives a little more purpose to the time I am spending skydiving (Not that you _need_ more purpose than having fun to skydive.) The more specific ones are ones that come up as I am jumping. I don't like to suck at something, I really don't like not being able to do something, and I can't stand failing at something. So when I mess up or find something I'm not so good at I make it my goal to be better. I got put on front float a few dives and consistantly screwed it up. Rather than not take that position so I wouldn't screw up as much I made a point to be a front float as much as I possibily can. I _am_ getting better at it, I still don't have it nailed like I would (and I wouldn't expect to at my #s) but I'm working on it.

So yes, I have goals. I don't have a big chart or list of all of them though. They just kinda crop up in my mind as things to work on and then I work on them (in that sense I have a list but not in a bigger sense.) I personally think that there is quite a bit of importance of having some goals to work on so that you aren't just jumping without aim all the time. When you don't know what to work on just make some fun jumps with friends and you will find something that you need to get better at and then work at it. I show up at the DZ on friday or saturday with one thing in mind, jumping, and what I learn works itself out from there.


Right now my 'little' goals include being proficient at front float, picking up my slot with the right level of agressivness in a timely fashion, and accuracy under canopy (need to work on my < 2m landings for the C lic and the event I have to land in a backyard).
~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

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As you say, "There is nothing better than getting out that door to clear your head



There's nothing like clearing your head past the door to get out of that plan.



Hey, man, I didn't think that I needed to explain the "clearing the head" meaning. Apparently I have to. Obviously it means clearing one's head of daily trouble, worries, tensions, etc., etc., etc. Not clearing one's head from skydiving and safety. Pretty obvious, but....



HISPA # 18 POPS # 8757

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I would have to say yes. Depending on how "hard" the previous goal was depends upon the next goal or the time frame for the next goal.

Sometimes is just wears you out achieving a goal that you just want to slow down for a while. Everyone other year I get aggressive with my goals.

This year's goal is to have alot of fun jumping with people of all skill levels. So far its working!:)
Judy
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

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Yup, yup, yup.

I am definitely in competition with myself. But I enjoy it!

I might beat myself up a little over a stupid maneuver, a bad sideslide, going slightly low or slightly high, a poor exit, etc...but I try not to dwell too much on it.

I definitely don't enjoy the "zoo" loads as much as I used to.

My goal right now is vague, just to get better in general, learn the 4-way dive pool...But I'm also trying to work with a budget right now, so my skills haven't progressed as fast as I'd like. I'd like to go to Nationals next year.

And god, I need a tunnel fix soon or I'm gonna explode!

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Nope. Why would I want to do such a thing for my hobby? In my job every phone call, mouse click and each time I get up for the bathroom is measured, managed, evaluated and placed in front of me to figure out where I can improve by .98%. Seriously, every day I have a 10 page report given to me that updates me on my monthly progress towards the goal given to me, and the progress may only change by less than 1% in a given day. It all starts over again on the 1st of the month, and then I have my 2 month goals, 6 months goals, and one year overall goals to consider as well. Goals? Sheesh, I have enough of those to worry about already.

If I turn 9 points or 10 points I am going to be happy. If if funnels, I am going to be happy. If I go out an fall flat and stable so a 20 jump newbie can practice fall rates, I am going to be happy. Yup, every jump is really a fun jump for me.

Don't get me wrong, I come down from a skydive and think "hmmm, if I had pointed my toes this direction and put my legs like this, I could have gotten that spock down a lot easier" and then I go up and do that on the next jump. I do the same thing while flying my canopy. I do want to improve my skills, and I do post-dive, however, I do not need the ego boost of the entire community saying "wow, that guy can skydive."
_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

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I'm definitely a goal oriented skydiver. I love skydiving, the people in the sport, the freedom it allows, and the beauty it holds. However, what I really love about it is the constant challenge it presents to me. I'm the kind of person that has to be the best at everything I do, or at least be "high level". I know that in skydiving, I can never, EVER be the best. I can never master it, even after 50,000 jumps and 60 years in the sport. That's what I love about it. The more you learn, the less you know.

I do have a specific goal. I want to become an instructor for a certain (unnamed) freefly school. While my specific goal may be considered "outdated" by some, they're still mine, and I'll be damned if I don't follow through with these dreams.

So yes, I'm very goal oriented.

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

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I'm goal oriented to an extent. I do eventually want to become an instructor, a rigger, maybe a pilot. But right now my goal is to learn as much about freefly and RW as I can. So Im jumping with people that are way more experienced than myself, and if the exit funnels or I go Low or whatever, I still find I have learned something from that particular jump (like how not to mess it up again). So I learned something, I got a good laugh, and hopefully made some new friends. Yup that sounds like a goal accomplished to me.

A thunder of jets in a clear blue sky, a streak of gray and a cheerful "Hi"

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