We’ve all heard the phrase, “In the Zone,” and most of us have experienced it at some point both on and off the field. When it happens, for the most part we think of it as a happy accident or lucky; something you wish for but really don’t know how to make happen.
What if you had the ability to be “in the Zone” (or “flow” as it’s also known) whenever you wanted? How do you think that would affect your performance or your life?
One of the results of being in the Zone is outstanding performance. People describe the experience by saying things such as “Everything slowed way down, and I was able to play at the top of my game.”
When you are in the Zone your thinking settles down; it’s amazingly peaceful because your inner chatter quiets. In the Zone you intuitively know that the inner commentary is irrelevant and if you pay attention to it, it will be detrimental to your performance.
In the Zone there is only now; the past and future do not exist. There is clarity and your focus is on being responsive to the moment. Check in with your own experience of being in the Zone and see if it matches what I’m saying.
Imagine if that were possible the majority of the time. It’s not a pipe dream. It really is possible to access the Zone at will when you understand how the mind works and what the source of being in the Zone is. There is an innocent misunderstanding at the heart of our inability to live from this place more of the time. The Zone is not some place to get to. It is our natural state. Let that sink in. If it wasn’t for our thoughts, more accurately said, if it wasn’t for believing our thoughts, for adding significance and importance to our thoughts, we would be in the Zone all the time.
When you understand the true nature of thought this all makes sense. Thoughts are transient, ever changing, merely moving through your consciousness like clouds in the sky on a windy day. Thought is NOT reality; thoughts are not a fixed state. We are the ones who misunderstand and treat our thoughts as things. We have been conditioned to pay attention to our thoughts and try to change or control them. All of this goes against how the mind actually works.
Don’t take my word for it. Check this out in your own experience. Have you ever noticed that in one moment you can be thinking of something and in the next moment you’ve forgotten what you were thinking? Or you can be really upset with someone then find out they are ill or had a tragedy in their life and suddenly your upset thinking disappears. These are only a couple of examples. If you look for yourself in your own experience you will see many more instances.
Now, relate this to being in the Zone where, as stated above, you intuitively know that the inner commentary is irrelevant and if you pay attention to it will be detrimental to your performance. How does knowing your thoughts are transient support you in accessing the Zone? Consider when you truly know the nature of thought, you don’t take it so seriously; you don’t worry or concern yourself with your thinking as much and it allows you to pay attention to what is ACTUALLY happening in the moment, right in front of you. You become responsive in real time to life which increases your effectiveness and aliveness exponentially.
If any of this is intriguing to you or you’d like to dive deeper into this conversation to see how it might help you perform better, please contact me to schedule a time to talk.
