“The Zone” – Boost Test Scores & Personal Performance Under Pressure

Getting Into The Zone And Controlling Your Attention To Reach A Peak “Flow State” Will Boost Your Test Scores And Personal Performance Level In Pressure Situations!

Imagine for a moment that you are strolling down the street minding your own business when a well-dressed man comes up to you and, while handing you a tiny needle and a length of thread, declares that he’s conducting a contest wherein he will give you a huge sum of money if you can properly thread the needle and tie a knot within sixty seconds.

“Not a problem, I can handle that,” you reply.

As you turn your mind to the task, there comes a sudden noise from around the corner, and to your complete surprise a loud, obnoxious wild group of cheerleaders comes leaping and tumbling your way, swinging pom-poms, jumping about, and raising quite a ruckus near you.

You are a bit perplexed for a moment, but you come back to yourself and note with irritation that fifteen seconds have passed, prompting you to turn your attention once more to the task at hand; yet, as you so, there comes another strange disturbance.

To the intimidating drum of many pairs of heavy-soled boots marching in hurried cadence, an entire platoon of armed fighters advance on your position from around another corner, encircle you on all sides.

Their leader steps to you and screams, “Your time is expiring! Thread the needle now or you are doomed!”

He turns to his men, “Ready! Aim…”

All weapons are now aimed at your heart, which is now pounding rapidly as your breathing quickens and your hands begin to sweat and shake! The cheerleaders are acting more insane by each passing moment as you can see the hungry gleam in the eyes of violent enemies with itch trigger fingers and now you’ve only got twenty seconds left, and you can’t even think straight!

Now you’re feeling the kind of pressure that pumps cortisol into your brain so that your mind is unclear and personal performance suffers as the risk of making mistakes and errors multiplies.

Then you realize exactly what you have to do to take control of the situation and perform brilliantly. You’ve practiced this skill many times. You know how to get yourself in “THE ZONE”, or as some call it, “THE FLOW STATE.”

For you personally, you’ve developed a fast-acting attention control and physical relaxation method that centers your mind onto a helpful target, loosens tension in your muscles, and slows down your subjective perception of time so that you can calmly observe events unfold while speeding up your reaction time to them, giving you an advantage.

With a smile, you instantly detach all attention from the distracting cheerleaders and firing squad, and within moments it’s as though they are barely there as they literally ‘fade dully into the background’ of your perception.

The fullness of your attention and awareness is now redirected onto your breathing, which you deliberately slow as your awareness allows you to locate specfic areas of muscle tension which you easily let go of while inhaling deeply, with willful control. The thoughts that bothered you become similarly distant in the background until they are beneath your notice.

The disconcerting, confusing effects of the previous mental state are gone, entirely displaced by a clear, quiet, expanded sense of both SELF and SITUATIONAL AWARENESS in which you are able to act efficiently, navigate obstacles intuitively, and execute the skills you already possess with pure excellence.

With no problem whatsoever, you thread that needle, tie the knot, and when you look up from your task, the cheerleaders are gone, the firing squad has vanished, you’ve got five seconds to spare, and the man who made the proposal is writing you a check to reward you.

You were in “THE ZONE.”  You were able to willfully access “THE FLOW STATE” of peak performance that top athletes are trained to access under pressure situations when the game is on the line.  It’s the same state that made the basketball goal seem fifteen feet around when Michael Jordan would take that winning shot.  It’s the same state that allowed Tiger Woods to pull off consecutive strings of stunning victories under burdens of expectations that would crush untrained minds.

With simple Attention Control Drills, you can place this ability in your toolbox of mental skills for use in not only boosting your test scores, but for transforming your study time into a pleasant experience, and for building mental strength and endurance that will make you a force to be reckoned with in professional and business life.

T. Lavon Lawrence, NCMFTT. Lavon Lawrence, NCMFT
Brain Training Expert & Author
The NEURO-SCULPTING!© Mental Fitness Training Studio
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