Have you ever been doing something whether it be a sport, playing an instrument or writing a paper when you notice yourself on a roll and it seems that nothing can stop you. How do you feel? Does it feel like you have a clear, yet focused mind? What about a "warm glow" kind of feeling surrounding you? This is something that we can describe as "In the Zone." But by the time we realize that we are in the zone, we lose it and struggle to get back in the zone. In my time working with Tom House, we have researched in-depth this feeling and how it separates the elite from the ordinary.

WHAT IS THE “ZONE”?

Being in the zone is a mental state called "Mushin." The term originated from the elite martial artists and defined in the Book of Zen, as the mental state when the person's mind is free from thoughts of anger, fear, ego, or doubt in combat or everyday life. There is an absence of discursive thought and judgment, so the person is totally free to act and react towards an opponent without hesitation and without disturbance from such thoughts. At this point, a person relies not on what they think should be the next move, but what is their trained natural reaction (or instinct) or what is felt intuitively. It is not a state of relaxed, or near-sleepfulness, however, its the mind to working at a very high speed, but with no intention, plan or direction.

In the Zone is when you are at your athletic and mental peak performance because your body does not have to think. It just does.

WHY DO I NEED TO BE IN THE ZONE?

As I previously mentioned, being in the zone is a peak performance state that allows the body to just do without thought of action or doubt of failure. Being in the zone does indeed improve athletic performance, such as Tom Brady, who is green (In the Zone) just by seeing green grass of a football field, but being in the zone can improve your mental health and focus on tasks. It's about being in the moment and letting your training do the rest. This Mushin state can improve your career and so much more.

HOW DO I GET IN THE ZONE?

One can get in the zone by practicing and replicating the repetitive actions until they become muscle memory, but they must also train themselves mentally to get into the zone and keep it. One of the best ways, I have found is through taking a deep cleansing breathe and focus on whatever goal I am trying to achieve, without thinking about it. I visualized the target and I imagine myself hitting that target perfectly. Once I feel the "glow" or "heated feeling" that comes from being in the zone, I attack the task and let my body perform the action. One of the greatest tools I have found when it comes to training my mind to get in the zone is FocusBand. FocusBand provides you with a headband that tracks brain waves and tracks them to determine if you are in the Mushin state or not. To consistently improve, the FocusBand mobile application takes you through series of mental exercises to grow total body awareness, focus and processes that can become habits that get you locked in the zone, such as the cleansing breath. I encourage you this week to feel and get in the zone and check out FocusBand to improve your athletic game (regardless of sport), mental health or career! Being in the Zone helps EVERYONE!