In The Zone

Let's take mental strength conditioning to the next level. I believe every athlete can and should develop a system to be able to deal with the impulsive emotions that can so easily keep us from performing at our highest level. There is simply no excuse for anyone to not be able to get better at the mental game. It is a choice. Either you are going to make it a priority and work on it, or you are not. Either you are going to get better and take your game to the next level, or you are going to get bypassed by those who are intentional about mental strategies that help maintain focus.

You know what it feels like when you are really IN THE ZONE. We've all had those moments when we felt like nothing or no one could stop us. We were locked in, intensely focused and nothing could break us. Every athlete longs for those moments.

Here's the thing, though. Some athletes (a very rare breed) are ALWAYS in the zone, while others are reliant on certain circumstances to get in the zone.

Do you ever think about this?

Why do some teams perform better at home than on the road? Why do some athletes perform better in certain environments or atmospheres? Some people have a hard time getting “in the zone” unless the circumstances are right for them, or they easily get knocked out of the zone due to external circumstances. They make their performance more about the environment or the place. They become too comfortable with the environment or the place, therefore that is where they perform best.

What does that mean? It means, for too many people, the place, the environment, or some other external factor dictates their level of performance.

Tim S. Grover, in his book Relentless, says: "The reason why some people or teams perform better in some environments than in others is because they cannot reproduce the specific environment that puts them 'in the zone.' Instead of dictating the outcome of the event, they are letting the event dictate the outcome to them. These are people who lose their cool and their confidence easily. They start feeling and getting emotional in big moments. Make no mistake, emotions make you weak (on the playing field). The fastest way to take yourself out of the zone is to let your emotions drive your actions. You lose focus. And without focus, you fail."

That’s what is different about elite players. The difference between elite (what I call "champions") and everyone else is their ability to control feelings and emotions rather than letting feeling and emotions to control them. It is natural to feel excitement, anxiety, nerves and even fear. Everyone does. You can't stop those feelings from coming over you. But you can dictate how you perceive them.

Do you ever get butterflies before a big event? Good. Everyone does. Grover tells his clients, "Good, now, get them all flying in the same direction, because they are not going away. But now you are controlling how you feel about them, instead of allowing them to make you feel nervous."

Emotions blur your focus, reveal that you have given up control, and ultimately they destroy your performance. They make you think about how you feel rather than simply replying on your preparation and your instinct to perform with cool confidence.

When the lights get brighter and the situations and environments get hotter, champions remain cool. This is where the elite step up to the plate. They are in the zone, performing all on instinct, based on their preparation, which gives them a cool confidence. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing or feeling. You trust your instinct. Better yet, your instincts trust you!

Another example Grover gives is to think about that intense moment on a roller coaster at the top of the hill, right before it is about to send you into that wild free fall. You know what is coming. You know it is supposed to be scary. Do you scream? Do you panic? Or do you stay calm and fearless because you know that you can handle whatever happens next?

That is what preparation creates inside an elite athlete. The difference in how you handle the "roller coaster" feeling is what sets you apart from those who give in to their fear and ultimately give in to what they cannot control. When some feel fear, they put up a wall (mentally or emotionally), in an attempt to protect themselves from whatever it is they are afraid of failing in. The wall only hinders their performance and makes it more difficult for them to succeed. When some feel rage, they lash out and become irrational, throwing equipment or having temper tantrums toward officials. They act on their impulse, and thus lose all sense of focus.

Without focus, you fail.

While everyone else is getting heated up in a particularly big moment, the elite performers are cool, confident, and focused. Their preparation allows them to be able to stay focused on what is really important in every situation, which is what they can control.

This is next-level mental strength. This is being controlled by your own positive ENERGY instead of your impulsive EMOTIONS. Energy will always outperform emotion.

You can perform "in the zone" all the time. You are not reliant upon external circumstances, specific environments or atmospheres. You don't need a song to get you fired up. In fact, those who start out too "fired up" and hot only have one direction they can go from there, and that is back down to cooling off. The most elite performers are those that come out of the gate cool, prepared, confident. Don't mistake them for not being "into the game" or not being "pumped up" or enthusiastic. They are more enthused than you realize. They just know how to use their enthusiasm as positive energy and elite performance rather than use it for superficial emotion that will wear off when the game gets tough.

These are the kind of players I prefer to have on my teams. And these are the kinds of teams I know are going to be the toughest to compete against. They show up. They go about their business without much fanfare, hooting and hollering. They are focused on the next task, then the next, then the next. And before you know it they are beating the tar out of you. If they get down, they don't panic. They don't lose focus. They just keep going about their business. They are not surprised by adversity, nor are they negatively affected by it. Each player has a system for how to deal with it, which keeps them ready to win on the next play even though they may have lost on the previous play.

You won't get them down. No matter what you do, you will not get them to lose focus. The reason why you cannot get them to lose focus is because their focus has nothing to do with anything you do or don't do. They aren't distracted by you. In fact, they don't even acknowledge you. They refuse to compete with you. Rather, their focus is on simply being the best they can possibly be in each and every moment, which forces you to have to compete with them.

Elite players... champions... are always in control of the situation. They set the pace, and they do not waiver when others panic and think they need to speed up. When others feel pain or get hit with adversity and are tempted to slow down or feel sorry for themselves, the elite keep that steady, unrelenting pace. They see the big picture, thus they are not stunned or thrown off by things that distract or even destroy others.

In high school, I ran some Cross Country. I still remember my very first race. There was a guy from another school who sprinted off the starting line like it was a 100-meter dash. I was new at this sport and at this point had only run in practice, not in a competitive manner. I thought in order to win, I needed to keep up with that guy who sprinted off the line. So, I dug in and caught up with him. But before long, we were both gassed and getting waved at by the other runners who ran past us. Later, my coach, Jim Oliphant, pulled me aside and said (I can still hear in my mind his very particular way of saying things like this), "Mr. Stewart, just a word of advice. When the starting gun sounds and that guy next to you jumps off the line at 100 miles-per-hour, let him go. Let him go. You set your pace. Keep it steady, strong, and unrelenting for 3.1 miles. When you do that, you will pass that fellow within the second mile of the race."

He was right. After that day, I no longer ran any races against an opponent. Oh, I continued to run Cross Country and there were opponents there competing. But I wasn't concerned about them. I knew what I was there to do. I had a plan, and I was going to go about my business every day, regardless of what anyone else did.

Just pause for a few minutes today and think about all the different aspects of life where this advice rings true. Then, after those few minutes... stop thinking, and go live it!