Are You In The Zone?
The look of determination and focus. The sheer will to get something done…even if it’s something that’s a huge challenge or seemingly impossible.
That is being in “The Zone.”
If you look at the face of a basketball player about to shoot a free throw, you’ll see it.
If you watch a preschooler crossing shoelaces while learning to tie a bow, you’ll see it.
If you get up close to a performer on stage who is singing, dancing, playing a guitar or another instrument, you’ll see it.
You’ll see that person (or those people) in the zone.
“The Zone” is not just a state of high concentration where one’s attention is directed, it can be so much more. This is that place where the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects can converge. There is usually a falling away of barriers when a person is in the zone. What’s left is the desire to meet a goal or master a skill or technique and to do so with everything the person’s got.
There is a certain transcendence to being in the zone. It’s as if all doubts, past attempts and other distractions simply do not exist. What’s there is the person and whatever it is he or she is doing or being in that moment. That’s it and it’s pretty amazing.
There is also that other kind of zone.
This is the kind of zone in which many of us spend a lot of our time. This is that condition of being zoned out. It can look like checking out, disengaging, on autopilot, scattered, overwhelmed, ditzy, dull or even zombie-like.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with being zoned out. After a long day, I sometimes want to symbolically turn off my brain for just a little while and watch something light and mindless on tv. There are potential benefits to zoning out in this way…but there are A LOT of negative consequences too.
Zoning out can be habit-forming.
It can become too easy to disengage with another person or a particular situation because you feel uncomfortable, threatened or otherwise unable to deal with what’s going on. You can become accustomed to greeting stress, discomfort or even everyday life from a zoned-out place.
This leads to living by default instead of making conscious choices. Feeling like a victim, “agreeing” to what you don’t want or feeling as if your life has no real meaning or direction also tend to run hand-in-hand with zoning out.
You also miss so much when you spend portions of your life in a disconnected daze. Precious moments with those you love fly by unappreciated and unattended when you are zoned out. Aspirations that you strongly hold disappear as you live by default.
Are you zoned out?
The tricky thing about zoning out is that many of us aren’t aware that we’re doing it. We may have developed this dull or dazed habit when we were very young. Especially for those of us who have experienced abuse or trauma in the past, zoning out can be a defense mechanism that served a survival purpose in the past.
If this is true for you, ask yourself if this habit serves you today.
Try to pay attention to what it feels like in your body when you check out for awhile. Sometime when you’re surfing the web or watching television out of boredom, pause and tune in to your body. Do you feel limp and possibly as if your vision is a bit fuzzy? Is there a tired or dull feeling in your mind?
The way you feel when you’re zoned out could be different than what I’ve just described, so discover what it feels like for you.
Doing this exploration when you’re doing something benign such as watching television is helpful. Now you know what it feels like when you zone out. This can make it easier for you to know when you check out in more stressful or emotionally charged situations.
Zone in and take your life to the next level.
As you get better acquainted with your habit of zoning out, you can start to wake yourself up and come into a different place. Do this waking up with gentleness and love.
Don’t chide yourself for “wasting away” hours online or watching television (or whatever else you might be doing). Lovingly interrupt yourself and ask yourself if this activity is helping you create the kind of life experience you want for yourself.
The answer might be “yes” and it might be a “no.” Every moment is different and the key here is to make a conscious choice about what you will do and how you will be in this moment now.
Be sure to also ask yourself what would support you as you re-engage with not only the situation, but also with yourself. That is perhaps the biggest benefit to you zoning back in; you get to come back into alignment with your wise and intuitive self. What you need might be some form of support from a loved one, to set a boundary, to go meditate, to exercise, to relax and take a bath or maybe even to keep watching the “mindless” television show and then go do something else.
The more conscious choices you make, the easier it will be for you to zone in and get in that “Zone” I described at the beginning of this post. The more you fully engage with the moments of your life– even the overwhelming and difficult ones– the more effective you’ll be at reaching your goals and living the joyful life you desire.
Comment from Lea
Time December 13, 2011 at 6:15 am
I find myself in the zone sometimes when I’m working. Sometimes I so deep in it I don’t want to stop and the end of the day.