In The Zone: Making Winning Moments Your Way of Life

[Dr Ray]

When I wrote "In The Zone: Making Winning Moments Your Way of Life", I
was fully conscious of one basic notion; excellence of performance in
all sports must derive from the same underlying performance
fundamentals. After twenty years examining this issue, I took a last
stab at finding a possible exception to this rule. I studied a wide
variety of sports and their underlying techniques and always found the
same result - regardless of the sport examined. All good athletes are
relaxed, balanced, flexible and focused. Let's take a closer look at
what this means in your life:

It is a fact of our human nature that we make choices that
significantly affect our lives and our futures - as they do our
moments. Here are four such choices:

You can choose to be RELAXED or you can choose to be TENSE.

You can choose to be BALANCED or you can choose to be STRAINED AND OUT
OF BALANCE.

You can choose to be FLEXIBLE or you can choose to be TIGHT AND
CONSTRICTED.

You can choose to be FOCUSED or you can choose to be DISTRACTED.

When you are relaxed, balanced, flexible and focused (in the moment)
you are closing in on the zone of elite performance. As passion
intensifies, as challenge increases, you best draw upon these ever-
evolving skills more and more.

Michael Murphy and Rhea White also published a book with the title of
In The Zone in 1995, the same year as my book with this title. (Their
earlier version was published in 1978). These authors were focused on
In The Zone as a "Transcendent Experience in Sports". My focus was,
and remains, on the experience of any individual, doing anything, in
the moment. Let me quote from their book, revealing some of the
conceptual similarity:

"Western athletes, then, like practitioners of the martial arts, often
depend on relaxation, concentration, breathing exercises, mental
emptying, and rhythm to achieve exceptional performances. Even though
they don't have a training system as sophisticated in this regard as
yoga or the martial arts, they manage nevertheless to incorporate
these elements into their practice and performance and often discover
extraordinary capacities for their strength, speed, balance, and
ease."

My 4-Core Competencies of Elite Performers In The Zone are
"PERFORMANCE SKILLS" we develop naturally, but need to be further
developed over time to achieve an ever increasing capacity for MAXIMAL
PERFORMANCE in what we do - and aspire to do.

Throughout my Posts on this Forum, you will find reference to these 4-
core competencies in relation to phrases like, Power Breathing in the
Position of Strength, all correct movement is exercise, whereas all
incorrect movement is injury, Exhale Into The Exertion, Correct
Breathing is required for Correct Stretching, Focus is Everything -
and the list goes on.

To more fully understand these competencies we have to proceed beyond
discussions - toward actual practice of the underlying performance
techniques. Otherwise, they represent little more than interesting
ideas with no practical relevance.

To fully appreciate the above, you will want to read these Posts
carefully, think and then rethink, evaluate your own performance, seek
constructive personal change, all of which will maximize your capacity
for leadership, self-confidence, on and off the course, at work and at
home.

I always welcome your e-mails and will always consider them
thoughtfully as we seek enhanced perfection throughout the moments of
our daily experience.

Dr. Ray