Have you ever attended a lecture or training seminar in which you dreaded being called upon to answer a question in front of others?  Have you ever worried about how others perceive your performance or personality when engaging in activities in social groups?  Of course you have – so have I and everyone else on the planet – thanks to a phenomenon called “self-presentation anxiety.”

In social performance situations such as training seminars and board meetings, this type of anxiety can lead to distraction, embarrassment and lack of participation.  In the world of firearm instruction, however, this level of anxiety and distraction can lead to much more devastating outcomes.

Lack of participation impacts your ability to learn and gain proficiency in proper firearm use, which in turn reduces your ability to save your own life when the need arises.  Embarrassment negatively impacts your desire to train in public settings, which also reduces your ability to save your own life when the need arises.  Distraction – the root of all evil in any firearm training environment – reduces safety and judgment and has the potential to lead to serious harm and bodily injury.

While some might attempt to compensate for this level of self-presentation anxiety with bravado or prescription medication (neither of which are good matches when training with firearms), there’s a much better alternative that can serve any students’ purpose: private firearms training instruction.  And what are the two greatest benefits afforded to you – the student – by private firearm instruction in a professional setting?

Those benefits are comfort and safety.

When considering any type of firearm training in a professional setting, the need for you to be comfortable cannot be overstated.  Any time you feel truly comfortable in your environment – including the setting, the people and the activity – your ability to learn increases exponentially and social anxiety can be reduced to the level of non-existent.  If you believe for even a moment that comfort isn’t a key component of effective learning, imagine yourself in the following situation.

You’ve decided to spend a few hundred dollars to train at a firearms range for the day under the “expert tutelage” of a local instructor.  The class is small – only nine other students are there with you – and is comprised of students with varying levels of expertise.  The instructor calls your name: it’s your turn to step up to the firing line and prove you’ve mastered the training offered in the course. The instructor is barking expectations and the nine students behind you are whispering their predictions of your performance.  It’s the moment of judgment and reckoning, and your mind tries to recall the lessons of the day while minimizing the rapid onset of performance anxiety and panic.

Does that sound like fun?  If you’re new to firearms training (or have been away for a while), this situation sounds more like a nightmare.  Not only is that situation uncomfortable, but it also has the potential to be dangerous.  If you value personal safety – as we do at Gunshots Firearm Training – you know that an environment that creates anxiety and panic tends to relegate safety to a secondary consideration and priority.

That’s unacceptable.  Safety first.  Safety always.  There are no exceptions.  Your safety, at the end of the day, is the only thing that matters.  You’ve already demonstrated your commitment to that principle by purchasing a firearm and making the decision to seek professional instruction in its effective use.  It is your safety, above and beyond everything else, which drives the entire process.

An instructor who provides you with private instruction doesn’t care if you make mistakes; they are an expected byproduct of the learning process.  He doesn’t judge you; he supports you and propels you forward.  He doesn’t criticize and degrade; he offers constructive insights based on valuable experience with the hope you won’t make the same mistakes he has during his lifetime.  The most important objective of private firearm training is to provide you with an environment free from performance anxiety, rich with exceptional training desired to save your life, and in a setting that promotes personal safety above everything else.

If you live in California near Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino County you have direct access to Gunshots Firearm Training, a firearm training facility that embraces this philosophy and provides a high-quality program that promotes uncompromised levels of both skills and safety.

And if you’re a resident of the area considering private firearm training, that should be making you feel more comfortable already.