Let’s talk about getting and being in the zone here. The zone is a beautiful place where you can get amazing results. Most people just don’t seem to be able to get into the zone and there’s a good reason for it. They are driven by thoughts and emotions when they have to perform. You’ll never be able to get into the zone if you’re not able to be present at the moment. Forget about what people said to you 5 minutes ago. Forget about the stress that you’ve got because you’ve got to perform in the future you’ve got to forget about all of it. You’re not allowed to be driven by emotions in any way. You’re only allowed to be present in the moment.
I’ve heard a lot of people claim that they’re part of the few that make something great out of their life. They all claim that they’ll be a millionaire someday but most of them won’t be one. They’ll never be one because they don’t have what it takes to be one. You need to be driven and focused. There’s a whole list of traits that make you see if you’re part of that 1% or not. The list is included in the book Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover. I suggest you read this book if you’re serious about finding out if you’ve got what it takes.
I’m currently reading this book for the second time and I love it. I read 5 books this week and were only Thursday. I’ll probably read 7 books when we’ve reached Sunday.
But now I’m going to cover one aspect in particular. I’m going to take you on a trip to the zone.
A trip to the zone and never back again
I get to this magnificent place by trusting my gut feeling. The gut feeling is the most underrated feeling there is since most people rely on other people’s opinions. I don’t and I’ll never do it again either. This magnificent place is the place where there are no emotions or feelings. They’re all turned off. You do something because you’re instinct tells you to do it not because someone else tells you to do it. It’s pure.
Most people assume that you’re able to perform without stress or even fear but that’s not true. There’s still stress or fear but you’re able to control it.
You control your feelings instead of the other way around. The zone is a comfort zone but this time it’s a good one since it makes you better. I enter that place every time that I train, blog, talk to people. I go in the zone, do my thing and I won’t remember a thing when it’s done. Instinct is what made you perform. You did what you needed to do at a particular moment. It’s like driving a car. You don’t think about it, you just do it. It’s your second nature.
I learned to access the zone whenever I wanted too
I had troubles in the past to get my momentum going and I guess that I was to busy thinking about so much stuff. It all changed as soon as I got to meditating. Meditating clears my head big time and it has made a huge difference in how I perform lately. I’m like a sponge and suck in all the information that I need to get better. No questions asked. I even did a job interview where I performed completely on autopilot. I nailed that one. It was over before I knew it but I didn’t remember what I had said in that entire hour. That’s how I roll these days. I feel a bit of stress, get in the zone, do my thing and get out.
I don’t want distractions because things like a cellphone can get me out of it. Most people will never be able to access this zone because their phone is glued to their hands. They’re social media zombies who’ll never be able to achieve something. Well, nothing besides getting tons of likes on social media.
The zone and becoming a good listener
I became a better listener by being able to get into the zone. I just didn’t realize it at that moment. Just take a look at how people interact with each other. One is talking and the other is glancing at his phone and constantly saying “uhu” or “I know”. How can you listen when you’re constantly looking at your phone? Your focusing at 2 things at a time so you’re doing nothing. Multitasking is a freaking myth. Forget about it. But even people who’re not glancing at their phone can be extremely bad listeners.
Some people will claim that they’re not doing this but what are you doing now? Are you reading this blog while you’re glancing at your phone? Are you calling while you’re reading it? Maybe you’re talking to someone on Facebook? You’re not focused and you’ll miss the whole point of this blog if you’re acting like this.
The people who’re not looking at their phone
You see some people can look at you but be absent. They’re struggling with their thoughts and you just don’t realize it. They think about what they should have said or need to say as soon as you’re done talking. They’re constantly reliving the same thing over and over again. It’s also a possibility that an event triggers the fact that they start thinking about the past over and over again. This habit is killing you. You just don’t realize it. It doesn’t matter what you said in the past. It doesn’t matter what someone else said.
You’re wasting precious energy on the past or the future. The two things that don’t matter. What you’re doing now matters. Now is the time to take action, the time to listen and so on. Not yesterday, not tomorrow and not the day after tomorrow.
It’s all in the now
You see your life is happening now. You’re extremely powerful in the now. I just can’t argue with that one. Eckhart Tolle was right. You need to be focused at the moment because that’s where you’re at now. You can’t change the past and you can’t control the future. So you can aim for the future but you can’t control everything. Life will hit you in the face and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t part of your plan to be hit.
Buy The Power Of Now. It turned me into a better martial artist but also a better person.
The only piece of advice that you need to nail a date, job interview and so on
Most people freak out when they’re having a first date, job interview or something else. They’re preparing hours in advance to say this and that. They want to come across as perfect and that’s extremely stupid. Why don’t you accept your imperfections? Why are you trying to play an act? You’ll be exposed eventually. So what’s the advice Alex?
Just be you. Be yourself because there’s nothing stressful about being yourself. It’s so great and most people don’t do it. You don’t have to try to be the best version of yourself because you are the best version of yourself. You are a fucking great person and you need to show this to the world, your date, future boss…
It doesn’t even matter when they don’t like you. You can’t have any regrets when they don’t like you since you were you. Does it matter that someone doesn’t like you? There are millions of people in the world. Not everybody will like it. That’s just how life is. Just don’t try to change yourself or someone else. It’s freaking ridiculous.
You will regret it when they don’t like you because you played an act. You’re the one to blame when that happens.
The zone and the flow state
Flow state is another term to describe this state of mind. People claim that you look cold and dead when they look into your eyes. You’ll lose complete track of time as soon as you’re busy. There no clock interesting enough to make you break the focus. You’re just extremely present in the moment, driven by instinct. Focused on whatever you need to achieve.
Alex this sounds pretty great but can you give some examples of people who were like this?
- Michael Jordan
- Kobe Bryant
- Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson
You should check out the last one. He recently fought against Alan Jouban and he looked like an absolute killer. He didn’t even cheer when he won. Gunnar Nelson was cool the whole damn time. Some people claimed that it looked extremely scary.
What if I’m not able to get in the zone
Some people don’t allow me to get in the zone by saying that I can’t do certain things. I can’t access the zone if I can’t trust my instincts and this sucks. Those people are putting a lion in a cage. They’re acting extremely ignorant. You’re trying to tame a beast and it won’t end well because the beast will escape. I will go back to the zone because I want to perform at my best. All-day and every day. There’s no point in holding people back when it comes to instincts. Baby’s live like this all the time. They cry when they need something. Have you ever seen someone argue with a baby about the fact that he can’t be hungry? I don’t.
Most people just lose the ability to trust their instincts over time and that’s why they’ll never perform at their best. But can you access it again? Of course, you can. It will return at some point and you will need to unleash the beast.
Standing in the spotlight
People ask me a lot about how I can be able to be so calm when I have to perform when I’m in the spotlight or front of people. I have one simple question for these people: what spotlight? which people?
I have only one opponent in life and that’s me.
It’s time to put my game face on.
Welcome to the alpha zone.
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Till next time
Alex
