Finding Your Zone

10 Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life

Michael Lardon, MD

1. Dream

  • Our dreams (day and night) shape the life we lead

  • Dreams are a creation of our unconscious mind

  • Daydreaming is a form of visualization

  • Dreams are a pathway to the zone

  • The Zone itself is a dreamlike state

  • Never compare yourself to other athletes in order to achieve The Zone

2. Be Prepared to Overcome the Odds

  • Don’t over-practice or over-prepare just before an event

    • The work is already done and changing something will not be beneficial 

  • Because of your preparation, there is nothing to be nervous about

  • Feel like you are on autopilot

  • A little anxiety is GOOD to get in the zone

  • If not trained well or prepared, don’t engage in competition. You will be disappointed in the result because you did not prepare

  • Great preparation happens long before the competition or performance

3. Transform Desire Into Will

  • Desire can lead to suffering.  Transform desire into will

  • Will is forged when energy of desire is never released from its goal

  • Just put the hammer down. Judge yourself on effort, not on the praise of others

  • Attach energy to a goal

  • Don’t just see a goal but embrace the energy, work, success, and failure along the way

  • Match action to desire to create will

  • Solipsism: only what is in your mind is what exists in that moment 

  • Go beyond pain: push yourself to new limits 

4. Trust Your Brain, Keep It Simple, and Stay Positive 

  • Trust yourself

  • In golf, too long of a pre-shot routine goes poorly, as does rushing that shot.

    • A consistent routine regardless of endeavor leads to success 

  • Don’t let consciousness get in way of what the brain already knows what to do

  • “Pushing it” under stress changes rhythm and disrupts flow 

  • Doing something “extra” leads away from the realization of ability

  • Do not focus subconsciously on the score

  • Those who know do not think and those who think do not know

  • Do not doubt what you already know

  • Trust your instincts and keep in simple

  • Commit to the execution – don’t back away because you are scared 

  • Don’t change something that already works

5. Stay in the Now and Be in the Process

  • Do not clutter your brain 

  • Trust yourself

  • Visualize, execute, and don’t overanalyze

  • Focus on practice not winning

  • Focus on your own task only not the task of your competitors

  • The key to being in the moment is having fun

  • Energy is a finite resource.  Only use energy on the next shot

  • Attention elsewhere loses focus and energy

  • Process-oriented thinking over result-oriented thinking

  • Visualize the shot then hit it fully committed with no doubt

  • Do not worry about stuff out of your control

  • Stay in the process and absorbed in the process: 1. Have fun 2. Conserve energy 3. Focus on the process and evaluate yourself on your process.

  • Go into a trance and time will stand still.

  • The only important shot in life is the next shot

  • Step out of the shot if you have any negative thoughts

6. Manage Your Emotions and Thoughts

  • If you find yourself in a hole stop digging

  • Be aware but don’t react to feelings and emotions

  • Know mind awareness and emotions

  • Differentiate yourself from your emotions

  • Do a reality check. Don’t catastrophize

  • Reframe: know mind awareness in action

  • Use thoughts of past positive experiences to reframe focus 

  • Anger is like holding a hot coal.  Ok but not for long.  Actually, visualize yourself dropping the coal (anger)

  • Let the anger go like a leaf down a river.  Visualize yourself putting a leaf in river and seeing it go away

  • Substitute frustration for curiosity about the situation and find a solution

  • Focus on a point of room or object on course to clear the mind

  • Use good posture and breathing to feel better and perform

    • Breathe with a soft belly

  • Stretch fingers to remove stress vs clench nervous fists into clammy hands

  • Victory is for the one who has no thought of herself

  • Golf is a long game.  Must relax after each shot

  • Slow mind down when agitated

7. Keep Your Motivation Pure

  • No pressure.  Surrender to the experience and be in the present 

  • The higher the bar, the purer the motivation

  • Intrinsic motivation (your own feelings) is eternal

  • Extrinsic motivation (cheers from others) is limited

  • Bill Gates had intrinsic motivation to invent and create.  He was not trying to get rich. Dropped out of Harvard to follow his dream.

  • Be the best.  Not the most famous.  Pure motivation.  Play for fun.

  • Do not seek approval or recognition.  Care only about having fun and going through process

  • Compete for yourself and not to please anyone else.  Do not care what others think.

  • Being in the zone is a private experience on the public stage

8. Acceptance and Faith Conquer Fear 

  • Find faith.

  • Fear brings strength, performance and motivation

  • Fear is a neurotic feeling in sports.  You are not going to die if you fail. Fear is an overreaction

  • Fear is a distraction in sports.  Get over it.

  • See bigger picture.  Games only a small part of life.  You will live regardless of the outcome

  • What is your exposure?  What is the worst case scenario? Worst fear?  Not all the outcomes are bad. 

  • Have perspective. Understand that worst case scenario. 

  • Accept you can lose and life goes on.  Do your best.  Have faith

  • Faith kills fear.  Faith is complete trust. Disarm fear with desensitization

9. Build Confidence and Win

  • Confidence is like a garden.  Takes nurture and care.

  • Self-confidence comes from: 

1. Past experience doing well 

2. Vicarious learning.  See someone else do it 

3. Modally someone who inspires you 

4. Social persuasion. Encouragement from someone you trust

  • Must mobilize #4 (encouragement from someone you trust) to nurture confidence

  • Surround yourself with the most talented people who have achieved what you want

  • Only be with positive people

  • Learn everything you can about someone who inspires you

  • Rise above emotional, physical and psychological stresses

  • Confidence = success

10. Perform Under Pressure

  • Everyone chokes.  Ok to choke. Minimize the choke factor by not worrying about results but focusing on having fun, playing, competing, and the process.

  • Need a playful attitude and impeccable preparation long before competition

  • Prepare long before so you can relax on game day

  • No shortcuts

  • Difference if you win vs if you lose is paper thin

  • Have fun. Life is a sport.  Play.

  • Humour allows you to relax

  • Let competitive juices flow