Emotions & Zoning
“The degree of one’s emotions varies inversely with one’s ability to think clearly.”
– Bertrand Russell
“The Zone does not just come to us randomly. We enter the zone because of very specific reasons, and those reasons can be controlled.”
– Robert Neff
Putting It All Together
So, to summarize what’s been covered so far, you know where you want to go – you know how you’ll get there – you have a plan for overcoming adversity – you can imagine yourself performing ideally – and your self-talk is helping you. This level is about how to actually find the zone once your performance starts. The last part of this reading describes the most important part (the Emotion Wheel), so be sure to read all the way through!!
When people are “in the zone,” they report feeling unbelievably confident about their ability to perform well. Even after mistakes, they feel as though they can bounce back with a high level of performance. Many report feeling excited, like children before opening presents. They can hardly wait to start – to see what terrific combination of things they’ll put together next. People who are zoning often find themselves smiling regardless of how well they are doing because they are enjoying themselves so much. Pro golfer, Phil Mickelson demonstrated this perfectly as he smiled his way to a 2004 Masters win.
When describing how the Zone feels, people often use words like: carefree, effortless, automatic, powerful, energized and simple. The following is a newspaper quote from a tennis player who had just won a tournament in California:
“I wish I could control what just happened. I had confidence that I’ve never felt before – I really believed I could do ANYTHING! This is what it’s all about – this is why I play tennis – not just to win tournaments – but to feel the way I did out there today. If I could feel that way more often, I’d be the best in the world.”
This came from former pro tennis player Pete Sampras, before he turned pro. Sampras went on to become #1 in the world and win more Grand Slams than any other man of his generation. Seems Sampras learned how to control the ‘feel’ that leads to the zone!
How to Increase the Chances of Zoning
Before Performing
- Learn and Practice Efficient Technique: Efficient movements have less tendency to break down during the performance. Without technical efficiency, people rarely zone.
- Be in Terrific Physical Shape: Zoning usually stops when people get tired (physically and/or mentally). Obviously fatigue, cramping and injury make zoning next to impossible.
- Understand and Practice High Percentage Strategies: No matter how great your technique and fitness levels are, people who consistently choose risky strategies cannot easily get themselves into the zone, especially when there are competitors who know how to take advantage of tactical errors.
- Prepare Properly: Make sure you’ve taken care of your equipment, food, sleep, practice and pre-performance warm-up. Visualize daily using the information in the imagery level of this course.
During the Performance
- Stay in the Present: We don’t know of anyone who consistently has zone experiences while feeling angry or nervous. By definition, a person in the zone performs automatically, has high confidence, visualizes clearly and feels almost constant pleasure regardless of outcome. It is impossible to feel pleasure while at the same time feeling anger or anxiety. Some people may continue to perform ok while angry or nervous, but the highest level of performance, the zone, will not happen until negative emotion is eliminated.
- Keep Thoughts Positive and Helpful: As soon as we become self-critical and negative, the zone is lost. Emotions are the key, and positive, helpful thoughts about controllable things tend to keep all Zone-5 states ideal.
- Use a Good Ritual: It is rare to zone throughout an entire performance. People who have done it manage their down-times extremely well. Most every activity has lapses in action. During these times, successful performers control their eyes, stay relaxed, visualize ideal strategies, and remain present to their thoughts. These rituals must be practiced so they too become automatic.
- “Flash” Visualize: Just as you’re about to execute a skill, imagine it in its ideal form. Some examples include: Imagining where the ball will go on a tennis passing shot just prior to contact; Imagining the trajectory of a basketball jump shot just prior to shooting; Imagining a move during a gymnastics floor routine just prior to executing it; Imagining a one-on-one move in basketball just prior to doing it. Great performers get a flash image of what they are going to do, and then they simply copy what they have just seen in their mind. This kind of visualizing can and must be practiced regularly before it will work consistently when needed.
Getting “Carefree” (Trying Without Caring)
One might think “trying” and “caring” are both necessary for top performance, since few would try if they didn’t care. However, we define “trying” and “caring” a little differently and believe that they CANNOT both be present DURING zone performances. Here’s why. Trying reflects the amount of physical and mental effort put forth during competition. Trying is obviously important to every performer. However, the word “care” is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “to wish for or want” pertaining to a specific FUTURE outcome. Future thinking during performances is what creates nervousness. So caring about the outcome or what people might think DESTROYS the chance of zoning! Most people we train initially can’t imagine performing without caring about the outcome. They really struggle with letting go and being ‘ok’ with whatever the result ends up being. Here’s a sentence we have our tennis player clients memorize in an attempt to help them with this issue: “As long as I hustle for every ball, strategize throughout the match, and stay high Zone-5, I know I’m doing everything I can in the moment and the score will be what it is.” As Long As I statements like this should be created specific to your sport or activity.
What we know about people in the zone is that they are so wrapped up in the moment, so focused on performance, that they are not consciously aware of consequences. In other words, in the moment of performing their skill, they do not “care” about what might or might not happen. Are they giving everything they have? Definitely! They may think about the outcome during breaks in action, but during the performance, in the middle of a zone experience, people simply don’t care what might happen! So how do people get to this place of trying without caring?
Fortunately for all of us humans, we can only think of one thing at a time. That fact is what will save us all from underperforming or choking in our next big event. All we have to do is recognize the future thought (usually a sentence starting with “What if…”) and insert another thought or picture! This simple solution is not always easy, especially if you are emotional or have a habit of ‘trying not to blow it’ when things get tight. The key is to create a new habit of recognizing the future thought and exchanging it for a present thought.
What does it look like when someone is trying hard but doesn’t care about the outcome? This might be someone who isn’t ‘supposed’ to win (underdog), someone who has no expectations of what ‘should’ happen, someone who just really loves performing (and just enjoys the experience), or someone who is focused on overcoming a mild injury (many people perform their best when their thoughts are on how to get through a little pain!). Whatever the example, it usually looks GREAT! The person is sharp, focused, relaxed, smiles often, is clearly having a good time, and usually is performing really well!
Here are some ideas on how to achieve a Carefree state of mind:
- Recognize Future Thoughts: Future thoughts are the ones that create importance and hence pressure. If these thoughts know they’re not welcome, they won’t come around too often! In order to get rid of them, you just have to consistently recognize and exchange them for strategy and effort thoughts.
- Smile Often: Enjoy the experience. Not only will it feel better, but you’ll perform better. As the Chinese proverb goes, “Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.”
- Act As If: Do what people who LOVE to perform would do. They’d lay it all on the line and courageously battle throughout. They’d “do what they do.” They’d “play their game.”
- Perform Like an Underdog: Underdogs don’t choke – they usually raise their level of play. Choose to do all the things an underdog does.
- It Is What It Is: Look at occurrences for what they actually are (Matter of Fact), not what you THINK they are. A double fault in tennis doesn’t mean you “can’t serve.” It simply means you missed 2 serves in a row. Move on after mistakes without attaching ‘meaning’ that might stir up emotions.
The following interview with a professional tennis player is an example of what can happen when an athlete cares less about the outcome during competition. This athlete became so frustrated that at one point during the match he considered giving up. But he’s so passionate about the game that he couldn’t stop trying even though he chose not to care any more about the outcome. The result? Getting “Carefree” enabled him to play better and actually win the match.
NOTE: If you’re not trying AND don’t care, you may be burned out (overtrained)! Consider some time off and investigate something called Periodization.
The Emotion Wheel® – Finding the Zone While Performing
The Emotion Wheel “flow diagram” displayed below shows the process by which you can learn to control your emotions and find the zone while you perform.
The letters refer to the letters in the diagram:
(A) The process begins with the situation – a performance is CLOSE to starting, the score is CLOSE or you’re trying to CLOSE out a performance. The word ‘close’ is being used in 3 different ways. Other situations could also be when you make the importance of performing really high, or when someone is evaluating you.
(B) The tendency is for the person to go to the future and think about the possible outcome (what might happen as well as what others might think).
(C) Since the future is unknown, harmful emotions tend to build, like feeling nervous, fearful and anxious, as well as getting tight and choosing to become overly cautious and conservative. This typically leads to errors and poor decisions.
(D) If too many errors occur, thoughts tend to stay in the past on negatives.
(E) Past negative thoughts tend to trigger anger, frustration, sadness and lack of effort.
At any of these 5 stages, the solution is the same – to ‘GET PRESENT’ by simply recognizing the feeling, thought or situation. The ideal path is from (A) to ‘ Recognize Situation’ to ‘Get Present’ so nervousness and anger doesn’t have to be experienced at all. Once present, you can then breathe and relax, visualize an ideal strategy and use self-talk skills to strengthen Zone-5 states. The success wheel begins to spin (and the Zone happens more often). The Zone stops when thoughts venture outside the circle, but the process of getting back into the present can then repeat itself.
By memorizing & using this Emotion Wheel, you can learn to consciously enhance your performance in real time.
