The Zone and How To Get Back

What if I told you that the magical fabled place you were able to enter as an athlete still exists today!?

That there is a way to actually increase your performance and productivity without having to meditate for an hour a day and mumble affirmations in the mirror.

That you have a whole other gear that you haven't even tapped into yet!

Let’s dive in!

I too used to believe that the zone was only a place athletes could go. That only on the court, in my element, in a high stakes game, I could maybe find the zone.

Maybe in practice, when it seemed my mind was so empty I just became one with the ball and the court. I could start to tell what was going to happen before plays ever began.

Time no longer followed the laws of physics. Abilities were enhanced.

The unexplainable!

I’m sure you have your own thoughts on the zone. When you were able to operate at an entirely different level. Where you reacted in ways you didn’t know possible. Where you suddenly had a different understanding between yourself and your surroundings.

If you’ve ever experienced the zone, it’s the craziest most addictive human produced high on planet earth AND you’ve entered your peak performance state.

Here’s some science!

When in the zone, your brain is releasing norepinephrine, dopamine, anandamide, serotonin, and endorphins. This combination is more potent than the strongest feel good drugs on earth! These drugs make you faster, smarter, quicker and they don’t just boost physical performance, they do the same thing to your brain.

You feel great. Your senses are incredibly heightened. But we’re not done yet with the science behind all this. The Zone has been known to drastically increase human performance in these 3 ways.

1. Motivation — This experience of being in the zone is not only very rewarding for the brain. It’s also very addictive. Scientists don’t like the word addictive so they use the word autotelic. Which means an end in itself. All you need to know is that once an experience generates “the zone” we will go to great lengths to experience it again. (Why athletes love “the zone” and remember athletics as the best years) And now researches are lead to believe that this experience of being in the zone can be the source of intrinsic motivation.
2. Creativity — While all these things are going on in the brain what we’re actually doing is tightening focus. We are lowering the signal to noise to detect more patterns and allow for faster reaction and decision making times. As you probably know, when you are in the zone, you never have time to overthink. And for some reason… most of the time we seem to make the right decisions. But it’s not just reaction time and predictability from pattern recognition you also increase your ability to laterally think. That means you are taking experiences from other pattern recognition and applying it in ways that were not comprehensible before.
3. Learning — Being in the zone drastically jacks up learning! The more neurochemicals involved the stronger the experience the brain will take it from short term holding to long term storage. Studies have been done where novice marksmen were trained to mastery. In the group of novices that learned while in the zone, the time it took to train to get to the expert level was cut in half. So… the famous 10,000 hour rule…. can be cut in half.

Most of us stumbled into “the zone” when we were playing sports but if there are these types of benefits associated with it… I wanted to be able to trigger it all the time!

So I found that in order to enter the zone we need to have as many of these external and internal circumstances going on at once. With just one… it is unlikely that you will cross over into the zone. With 5/6 it is very likely. And when you are at a true 6/6 it is inevitable. And with some practice, you will be able to tap into the zone in order to reach your peak productivity and performance.

The 3 External Triggers:

The first is risk.

For an athlete, this used to look like a surfer running out to 50 ft swells, staring down a mountain, or maybe stepping into an important competition.

Although risk can be considered danger, it’s not exactly what we’re talking about here.

If we’re trying to achieve flow at work… it’s tough to work at your computer while also prepping to skydive.

So here’s how it works.

The risk sensors are triggered by the fight or flight mechanisms in our subconscious mind.

Then, our conscious mind begins to overanalyze. With increased stress and adrenaline, we typically talk ourselves out of these situations.

For most of us, these will be mental and social risks.

For some, a risk could be starting a conversation with a stranger at a networking event. Making cold calls. Closing strategy sessions. Quitting your job and becoming an entrepreneur… you get the picture.

Most people avoid risk. They only go up to their current threshold without ever expanding. And because of that… they miss out on flow.

The second is rich environment.

This is a nice way of saying that you really have no idea what the outcome of a situation could be.

This was adopted from extreme sports, so rich environment being that moment of awe. The novelty of something you have never experienced before.

But for us, it lies in the unpredictability and complexity of our environments.

There are always moving pieces. For former athletes in high performance businesses they are constantly entering situations where they are unsure of the outcome.

Picking up the phone to make a call. Walking into a new store to make a sale. Getting around a gatekeeper. Doing a sales demo (I hate presentation). Following up.

All of these create the environment needed to enter flow.

The third is deep embodiment.

This might be the only real spiritual woo woo thing on here. If you are already into meditation and breathing this is going to be no problem for you!

But if the meditation stuff isn’t for you, you can still tap into this.

It’s being in tune with your entire body. In sports, we ask our entire body to work for us at one time. We become immersed into our bodies. We leave little room for thought because the conscious mind can’t keep up.

One of the greatest pieces I was able to take away from High Performance Habits was his breathing technique to become present.

Calming relaxing breaths. Once relaxed. Followed by an affirmation for the upcoming task. Takes 1–2 minutes.

If that’s too much for you.

Do you stand when you’re on the phone? Do you have a standing desk? Have you ever taken a meeting on a walk?

A quick burst of exercise before you need to enter flow could be just what you need. I have some friends that will walk and do brain storm sessions on their phone and that is some of their best stuff! (Secret… it’s because they’re in the zone!)

The 3 Internal Triggers:

The first is clear goals.

You might be thinking… well, duh Matt. Of course, I have goals.

It’s not just goals.

It’s CLEAR goals.

I have a goal worksheet that you’re more than welcome to check out here.

The problem with most people's goals is that they have no clarity around what they want and why they want it. Most people's goals are put into their minds by their manager or outside influences.

To really confuse the mind. They’re typically muddled. We’re afraid to share our true goals with our peers. And because of that, they tend to be vague in description.

2 big things when creating goals. You need to have a belief that they are obtainable. And you need to have them big enough and important enough to impact your attention.

When you are working on one of your goals, it should be the most important thing in the world to you at that moment.

When I’m writing my book. I turn off my phone and lock myself away so there are no distractions. When I start sales calls, I step away from email and social media.

These are simple things, but compound over time.

The second is immediate feedback.

Most people review how they did on December 31st and set new targets for Jan 1. And never analyze how they are doing or how they did till the following year on December 31st.

I know you’re not that kind of person so this should make a lot of sense to you.

When we played sports, we were constantly given immediate feedback. The shot went in or it didn’t. We stopped them on defense or we didn’t.

Because of the short time loop, we were able to assess our abilities and gauge our progress.

Every day, I’m assessing how the day went and strategizing for the next. After every sales call, what went well what didn’t? How did my post receive engagement? How is my email copy working? At the end of the week, what went great what could I do better? End of the month? End of the quarter? End of the year.

It’s taking the macro, turning into micro, so that you can blow away the macro you set out to achieve.

The third is challenge to skill ratio.

This follows the Atomic Habits Goldilocks rule closely but I’m going to add a little bit more when we are talking about the zone. Since habits are not necessarily flow triggers.

The idea is that when doing a task, it should be challenging enough to push you, but reachable based on your skill level. (Goldilocks Rule)

This is typically where we filter out the fixed mindset people vs the growth mindset.

Since fixed mindset individuals are terrible at assessing where they currently are based on their skills and abilities. (Go pick up Mindset by Carol Dweck if you don’t know what I’m talking about)

Usually from keeping them doing the tasks necessary to get better, or get burned out because their task is too big for their current abilities.

The growth mindset is very advantageous as you are able to accurately determine where you currently stand and create a gameplan to reach your goals and effectively increase your skill level.

Which brings us to the crazy word maybe.

Which… my whole life I felt was kind of like “try”. Which was taboo because we don’t try. Either we do or we don’t.

The thing that I now realize is different about maybe is that you are approaching an outcome that you are unsure of the results. It’s a maybe because you have never been able to successfully complete it. Most other people don’t believe it can be possible either.

Try is passive. Maybe is an action. Maybe is the curiosity. Maybe is the motivation.

And once we have maybe in our mind, we are that much closer to what others consider impossible.

A few ways we can keep in touch!

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Gratitude Challenge. Goal Setting Playbook. Free Agents Don’t Win Championships.