We all need to be honest with ourselves in every area of our lives when it comes to evaluating how things really are and where we want to go. Roping's no different, and every roper needs to ask himself, "Am I willing to change to become a better roper?" The thing I see in so many ropers is they talk the talk, like they want to get better. But what keeps so many people at certain levels their whole career, in my eyes, is an unwillingness to change.
It seems crazy to me when someone stays a No. 2 roper all his or her life. How can that be any fun? Why not study your game, go to a school and work at it? It seems to me that just about any activity I can think of is more fun the better I get at it. Roping is no different.
I see so many people with mental blocks on certain aspects of roping. They might refuse to handle their slack a certain way, or to feed their rope a certain way. I've actually seen ropers who won't even try something new. They put up a wall and refuse, saying, "This is how I do it." People get in a comfort
zone and decide it'd be too hard to change.
A lot of people aren't willing to step over a boundary to change for the better. But they're a No. 2 anyway, so I don't see them having anything to lose. You might see experimenting as a setback, but it's only a temporary, short-term situation. I hate to see people fall into that trap, where they aren't willing to try something new that would make them better in the long run. I'm not criticizing lower-numbered ropers here, I'm just being honest and trying to help you get better.
