The Zone – AFL Podcast

by | Dec 9, 2018 | Balance Wisdom, Podcasts | 0 comments

In The Zone

Have you ever been “in the zone?”  Have you ever heard someone say “I’m in the zone, don’t bother me?”  If you have then you know what I am talking about.  If you’ve never really been in the zone then let me explain, because this is a really amazing thing, and you need to not only know about it, but you need to experience this as often as you can.

Defining it

I did a lot of searching to see what others thought the definition was.  The one I found that was closest to my perception is the definition by the Collins English Dictionary – a dictionary I hadn’t heard of until now.

In the zone
Informal
in a state that produces achievement with such an extraordinary, often unlikely, degree of success that it seems to defy purely rational explanation

It is interesting that it mentions “often unlikely” degree of success, isn’t it?  You are doing something that seems to produce an achievement, with a very satisfying and unusual degree of success that you can’t seem to explain.   I think that’s a big part of it.   You go to do something, to create something, and when done you look at what you’ve done and marvel at the outcome – dang that turned out really really well.

That’s a part of it, but let’s take a even large view and encompass the entire concept, in my humble opinion of course.

Being in the zone just feels right.   It feels like you are doing something you are good at – something you are exceptional at.   That feeling of perceiving that you are very good at it is a feeling of self-validation.  And we all know just how powerful validation is – it’s the feel all be all emotion.  But the zone is more than that.

The Second Facet

If you were good at something but didn’t like it then you would only have a two dimensional feeling of validation.   The other facet adds another dimension.   Not only do you feel like you’re good at this, but you just feel right doing it.  When you do this you feel like this is your thing.  This is your domain.  Hold my beer.  It’s the third act and you are up.   That’s a really important part – that feeling that you are doing your thing.  This acts as a self-contained fuel for the validation.  You do the thing and enjoy it, then take a step back and say “Dang Karen, you really are good at this!”   But wait, there’s more.

The Third facet

There’s a third facet of The Zone.   This facet is not required but it just makes the zone that much easier to attain for some, and it involves the V word again.  Again, you do this thing, then you look upon it and pronounce it amazing, this validating yourself and fueling your passion for it.  But now you show it to others and they go crazy over it, not only confirming your assessment of it, but increasing the assessment to another level.   You think it’s great – humbly and almost secretly – and they all think it is awesome!   Now you have external validation that adds to your fuel.

Systemically

Since I see everything as a system, I see how these three things can be combined to produce different results.  I’ll revisit these facets separately in another podcast/article, but the scope of this post doesn’t allow that.

What is your zone?

There’s no limit as to what your zone is.  It can be writing, acting, creating music, your specific form of art, or even playing Santa.

Discovering your gages

If you follow me and are aware of The Status Game then you’re aware of how you’re guided by these gages on your dashboards.  The Discover Your Gages workbook will be out soon (as a companion to the seminar of the same name).   If you haven’t been in The Zone then that’s a crime.  You need to find your zone, and The Status Game will help.  Hit me up, peeps.

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