Just what is 'in the zone' and how do you get in it?

[Strat]

I think I posted a topic similar to this once before but that was a long time ago and I don't think I got the answers I was looking for.

One thing I actively pursue nowadays is how to get in the zone. It's one of those things that I love to think about, nobody can prove it's real but everyone knows it is. It's like feeling love or heartbreak, you know it's not physically associated with the heart but you damn sure feel it.

I bring this up because I don't understand how it works or necessarily how to 'activate' it. I play pool about 3 times a week and sometimes I can turn it on and others not. Usually not.

And usually it shows up when it wants. There are a few conditions that consistently activates said zone. If I am buzzing from alcohol (must not be drunk or will miss most shots), a song is on I like and I am singing along to it then it's possible that I will randomly get in that zone.

EDIT: When I'm in the zone I don't miss. It just never happens, I'll run the table out defense shots or not. I know when I'm in the zone, I can feel it and it's not an alien feeling.

I don't know why this works the way it does and I know it does sound dumb. Especially the singing along part. This has become a problem for me because I clean house in practice but when it comes to game day I get wrecked. The problem is game days I wont drink or sing along to music because I feel like an idiot when I do.

From that description it sounds like I have performance anxiety or something but that couldn't be further from the truth.


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So what's the answer? I remember....someone (greybeard?) once said that alcohol can put you in a similar state as....something (some kind of meditative state)

What really throws me off is the fact that I have to sing along to music. And it's just so fascinating when it works, it's like several malfunctioning parts of a car simultaneously fixing themselves and nobody knows why!

The point of all this is that I'm assuming there is something I can practice to try and activate said zone. Ideas/explanations?

[Blacklight43]

Hi Strat. I understand this zone thing but don't know if I can explain it. I was trying to explain it to my son the other day. I have been teaching myself to play and memorize some classical music pieces and when I am in that zone it is played flawlessly...and then my thinking gets in the way. If I am aware that someone may be listening I lose that connection (performance anxiety). In my case it does seem to be an altered state of consciousness but am not sure how I get there....maybe focused intent....relaxing mind and body. I think if we get rid of the notion of what others think matters, may get us there too. Just a thought!

[bruno dante]

I equate it to tuning a radio, searching for that proper frequency. Sometimes you find it consciously and sometimes you stumble onto it.

I think anything that removes you from the standardism of everyday life will get you closer to the "zone" frequency, be it alcohol or meditation. And the singing - maybe I'm reaching here - is kind of akin to a shaman chanting in an attempt to reach a mystical state (the zone?)

I think the "zone" is always out there, waiting to be discovered. Eagerness is a detriment, I've found. A strong intent is preferable.

Cool thread Strat...

[ulli]

You'll somehow have to figure what anxiety factors come into play on game day.
Is it to do with how others perceive you?
Because when you are by yourself you feel you are in good company,
hence no duality is experienced.
All is one.
And that's how the Zone is accessed.
My advice is to be completely ok with the idea of being an idiot.
Do you actually know anyone who is not an idiot? It's normal.
Give yourself permission to display a few idiotic eccentricities,
and to hell with what others might think of you.
They are only projecting their own insecurities.....

[PurpleLama]

A little alcohol might relax one just enough, that slipping into the zone seems easier. Much more than that, and it might make you think you are in the zone, while just appearing drunk to everyone else.

Picking up a loaded gun puts me in the zone, and I am a deadeye. It isn't something especially to be proud of, in my opinion, but it is an example of how certain activities might be conducive to certain individuals in finding this zone. I can feel everything all at once, the eye, the hand, the gun, the target, etc. and the shooting and hitting of the mark just happens.

I have little musical ability, but sometimes I find myself improvising a jazz type variation when humming simple tunes and walking my youngest to sleep, and the feeling that comes with that is akin to the zone, as well.

It is perhaps that one practiced sufficiently in certain activities learn to let the innate take over, similar to the moves you practice in martial arts. Further, there may be tendencies bled over from other experiences or lives that might bring this about spontaneously and without any account of the origin of one's sudden show of expertise.

[TargeT]

"the zone"

I define it as complete focus with no distraction.

Like purplelama, I also hit this every time I go to shoot (though only with rifles, not sure why handguns are hit and miss for me) I get very focused, tunnel vision, my mind goes silent and all of my focus is on the task at hand. there's no thoughts of bills or life stress or what I have to do tomorrow, I'm just completely "present". my consciousness isn't stuck playing back the past or guessing at the future it's focused on right now completely.

Robert Jordan features this "zone" in his book set "The Wheel of Time" (an excellent set of books); there he describes it as "the oneness" and that it is reached in different ways. I think this is what meditation attempts to teach and various other arts.

I also get into the zone when fighting (competitively, not actual fights); very focused on my next move, what technique I want to set up to try and use etc. And when I used to race Auto-Cross I would also achieve this absolute focus, Drive like the vehicle was an extension of me, become so a part of the car that people would ask odd questions at times.

In my opinion certain stressors assist this, be it competition or physical danger (most of mine involved both) I didn't get there snowboarding very often, maybe because there was no competition and it seemed like less physical danger, but there were moments then too.

basically, whatever it takes to break you out of your "rut" and engage you completely in the activity at hand.. I'm sure it's different for everyone, though it may be very similar as well.


What really throws me off is the fact that I have to sing along to music

I'd venture to guess that you are using hte music to occupy "their mind", to engauge the ego with a predictable task that stops it from distracting you with randomness.

ever wondered where the term "music sooths the savage beast" came from? Maybe you just discovered it

[Matt P]

I experienced athletic "in the zone" moments many times in college, all without alcohol or drugs. In sport I always thought of it as the perfect result of preparation, effort, focus and random good energy of the day (influenced by many other seen or unseen forces). Interesting about the performance anxiety. I used to feel that when I played organized basketball but not when I played pick up basketball. I would actually black out and not remember being on the court in organized league games. I took it as a sign I was not meant to play organized basketball but I never lost my love of playing for fun. I think when you play "serious" pool, your body's reaction to it is maybe telling you it's not in line with how you are supposed to play that particular game. Playing for money or with so much attention on you might remove that which gives you what makes you so special. Keep playing for fun and you'll keep finding your zones would be my guess.
Of course, I have heard of professional athletes that have similar things happen and still learn to overcome it. Random example but I was listening to an interview with Pat Macaffey (sp?), punter for the Colts, talking about how he doesn't remember any of his plays after he comes off the field. Weird isn't it?
I also have experienced "in the zone" moments with work. I build just about anything but I used to only specialize in decks, fences and other exterior woodworking. It was ridiculous sometimes. I found that if my heart was in the right place and I was doing my absolute best to make the best and right decisions at every point of the project and to love the process of it, I found that "things" fell into place in ways that never should have been possible. It was like the project was building itself and I was just the conduit. It became so frequent and so crazy, I actually changed the name of my company to include a term that reflected this. Again, though, I think it's a combination of preparation, effort, focus, good energy, being in the moment and on a path in line with Who you are supposed to be.

Matt

[Apulu]

This is really interesting, nice one - to me partly because it seems to overlap so much into what I've read concerning 'altered' states and 'spirituality' (I really don't like the religious overtones to that word these days, but hey ho). But also in general...

The first thing that jumped out at me was that the zone could have a close relationship with what's I've heard called being in flow (and I agree with quite a bit of what's been said already - I'll probably repeat a few things here). To my mind the most important thing about being in flow seems to me to come down to conquering the ego, but that sounds a bit grand. That would also include a myriad of things, to different people, obviously, but the most relevant thing to this topic could most likely be things like relaxed focus, being in the moment, confidence or self-assuredness, and letting go of the outcome. Any concern or distraction from the present moment and what's at hand is probably going to mean crappier results.

Letting go of an outcome seems counter-productive in the case of winning a game, but how many times have you heard sporty professionals saying things like "yes, we won that game easily, and we could win the league, but we're not going to focus on anything except the next game"? And there's the danger of over-confidence, which seems to indicate a moving away from reality. All winners of major sports events are incredibly focused on their desire to win, but perhaps during a game that means transferring all that focus onto concentrating on the thing at hand when competing. And so many talk about it purely coming down to psychology at the very top. You try too hard, you fluff it. You're complacent, you fluff it. You maintain relaxed focus with no thought of anything but a feeling of executing, and you could be in the zone...

I've had my success at sporty things seemingly double or treble with regular Yoga practice. It seems to naturally put you in a physically and mentally relaxed and focused state, and for me it absolutely explodes a self-assured feeling in me when I've been doing 5 or so days a week for a few months. So I feel more like I don't really care about the outcome - I'll feel good anyway. I've even, a few times, felt like I can't be bothered winning as I can't be bothered with my opponent's reaction. But I think I'd usually rather win...

What I find so fascinating about this, I think, is that if you were able to take everything that makes someone successful at sport, and apply that to life, surely you'd be practically enlightened!

[Apulu]

...mpennery that was great - I hadn't thought about it like that - that a kind of ill feeling in a particular area of competing/performing could be your subconscious telling you that this just isn't for you.

I've thought about this quite a bit but in a different area - music. I was a 'professional' musician in a band at one time, and I could never get over the massively ill feeling surrounding practically the whole endeavor - once we had really started to get somewhere!

I'm fairly convinced that it's possible to get over all those feelings too; I'm supposing if it feels important enough to you, then it's right for you, no matter what your reservations about it, depending on the person and the situation!

[Strat]

Robert Jordan features this "zone" in his book set "The Wheel of Time" (an excellent set of books); there he describes it as "the oneness" and that it is reached in different ways. I think this is what meditation attempts to teach and various other arts.


Funny you say this but Rand just took Callandor, I'm on the next book and they're about to put Min in a dress which she dreads the thought of.

Fantastic read! Please no spoilers.


I'll have a more decent reply later, just thought it was neat you dropped the WOT reference. Oh! and it's called "the void." I do think it was Mr. Jordan's reference to a clear mind achieved through meditation. The 'flower opening' technique they teach the (not to be trusted) Aes Sedai has got to be some form of meditation.

[TargeT]

Robert Jordan features this "zone" in his book set "The Wheel of Time" (an excellent set of books); there he describes it as "the oneness" and that it is reached in different ways. I think this is what meditation attempts to teach and various other arts.


Funny you say this but Rand just took Callandor, I'm on the next book and they're about to put Min in a dress which she dreads the thought of.

Fantastic read! Please no spoilers.


I'll have a more decent reply later, just thought it was neat you dropped the WOT reference. Oh! and it's called "the void." I do think it was Mr. Jordan's reference to a clear mind achieved through meditation. The 'flower opening' technique they teach the (not to be trusted) Aes Sedai has got to be some form of meditation.

(VERY minor plot point spoiler to follow, basically pointless to the over all books)well later on it's referred to by the older much more powerful characters (Forsaken, Lanfear specifically) to be considered the "oneness"; the void comes from rands fathers teaching (and warders etc..) of the technique that the males use of the flame and the void (focusing on a void with a flame in the center where you feed all your fears and random thoughts into etc... I've tried this myself, doesn't work for me)

anyway semantics aside, I love how you drop a MAJOR spoiler then ask for no spoilers... good dichotomy... haha


existence is the ecstasy of dichotomy.


so yeah, that was completely off topic

[13th Warrior]

"The Zone" simply put in a "Star Wars" frame of reference is "using the force"..."may the force be with you"

[DNA]

One thing I actively pursue nowadays is how to get in the zone. It's one of those things that I love to think about, nobody can prove it's real but everyone knows it is. It's like feeling love or heartbreak, you know it's not physically associated with the heart but you damn sure feel it.

I bring this up because I don't understand how it works or necessarily how to 'activate' it. I play pool about 3 times a week and sometimes I can turn it on and others not. Usually not.

And usually it shows up when it wants. There are a few conditions that consistently activates said zone. If I am buzzing from alcohol (must not be drunk or will miss most shots), a song is on I like and I am singing along to it then it's possible that I will randomly get in that zone.

The zone in my opinion is accessed by turning off the internal dialogue. The internal dialogue is literally jinxing you the entire time you are performing, especially in competition. It is literally ten times worse than the kids on the baseball field yelling "hey batter batter" while you are at the plate.

The best way to turn off the internal dialogue is to focus on your breathing. For me, yoga worked wonders, this because the stretches are painfull, and as such you have to focus on your breathing. Performing any action to the point your thinking process is bypassed and the nervous system can perform the task is also a way to get in the zone. Dancing, physical combat techniques and sports all tend to do this.



Robert Jordan features this "zone" in his book set "The Wheel of Time" (an excellent set of books); there he describes it as "the oneness" and that it is reached in different ways. I think this is what meditation attempts to teach and various other arts.


Oh wow, I thought I was the only nerd here who read those books. LOL :)

They are horrible, but very addicting.
Jordan borrows considerably from Frank Herbert's Dune in my opinion in the writing of these books.

It's a shame he couldn't finish them before he died.
I'm enjoying the books written by Brandon Sanderson to wrap up the series.
Just one more to go.
I'm kind of savoring it.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Dear OP: "in the zone" is an amazing by-product of stimulating your brain's parallel processing ability.
Nature abhors a vacuum and this applies to an empty skull, lol.


Parallel processing is the ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli of differing quality. This becomes most important in vision, as the brain divides what it sees into four components: color, motion, shape, and depth. These are individually analyzed and then compared to stored memories, which helps the brain identify what you are viewing. The brain then combines all of these into the field of view that you see and comprehend. Parallel processing has been linked, by some experimental psychologists, to the Stroop effect. This is a continual and seamless operation.

p.s. Asperger's people and others with minor motor coordination problems almost always feel better with a drink or two.
But personally I had to stop drinking even though in small amounts it made me feel 5x as normal as my "usual self".

As a young teen, I found it hard to focus on the basketball in large groups and especially in live games with crowds.
I am sure some alcohol would have solved this and made me an aggressive and speedy player. LOL.
But teens in the USA are not permitted this simple privilege. So it was not until I was 21 that I became an alcoholic.

@_@ gasp. Quit last fall but your thread makes me want to buy a 6 pack and a basketball and hit the courts.

*thump thump thump at 2am*

Tesla doing lay ups lol

p.s. just like the Autozone commercial, "get in the zone, autozone" lol.
By stimulating your brain you are FORCING your sympathetic nervous system etc. to take on a more active role..... btw