Thought for the Day - Deciphering the Zone

 We experience flow as the famous book says. We experience being in the zone which I am assuming is the same. It is clear that this happens rarely. It is a heightened state of consciousness, of awareness, where everything seems easy, seems fully under control to the extent that you feel like you can thread a needle from a 100 feet away, seems in complete balance. There can be no other outcome but what you want to achieve, you are fully there with no doubt, no other thought in your mind.

100% there, in flow (until I get a better pic)

The zone.

Now it happens in games. In performances. At work. 

In relationships.   

Let me share my 'flow' or 'in the zone' experiences. 

In the game of cricket I can pick at least two clear examples - once when I scored 158 for Osmania in a league match - absolute control over ball in terms of placement, timing, balance. Another when I got 6 wickets in a league match when I suddenly found the state after the first wicket. That day, I could make the ball talk like thy say - it did whatever I wanted it to!

In my TEDx talk at VNR VJIET I felt I hit the zone after a quarter of the talk was over. Where I had begun feeling rather alone and disconnected on the stage initially, I slowly felt I had an individual connection with every single one in the audience, that we were attached by a string and they would react the way I wanted them to. Extremely powerful feeling.

The odd lecture when we are in flow - and everything is happening as we want with no effort. Nothing can go wrong we feel. At times while writing, when the idea comes across perfectly!

Other flow states - in conversations with friends when an idea seizes us and we are in complete sync with one another, completing sentences for the other.      

...

The desire therefore is to own the flow state and figure how to keep it on tap. So I examined what the aspects of flow are - fully in control and in balance (happens as a result so no control over it), absolutely present with no other thought (can attempt this aspect to be completely present), complete ease with minimum effort (again, seems to be an outcome and have no control over it).

Of the above the one or two things I can control are - being in the present and being fully there. Now being in the present is easier said than done but I think there is a way to get the mind to work here. That's in the second part - being fully there.

To be in flow - one thing one can do is to be fully there working towards an objective you want to achieve - i.e. every single cell of your body should be engaged in that act with zero resistance or judgment or bias or doubt or fear. Just 100% of yourself, your every cell being present to the moment, to the act. For eg you are speaking with someone, ask yourself if every single cell of yours is working towards the objective you want - to be in flow with the person. If you are playing ask yourself if every single cell of yours is fully engaged in the act towards achieving the outcome you want.

My two cents. I'll try and practice it some more and let you know the results!