Have you ever had that feeling of being in the zone?
If you don’t know what I am referring to, the zone is that feeling when you just feel awesome and happy and “on.” Athletes talk about the zone where whatever it is they are doing, whether it is hitting a baseball or returning a tennis shot, they just feel that they are at their best. Business people experience times in their industry or company when things are so great that everything they touch turns to gold. We can probably agree that this incredible feeling is fleeting at best and doesn’t come too often.
The zone is a mental place of complete clarity where we positively experience and are completely present in the moment. It is euphoric. I know that for several years the only time I experienced this feeling was on the fourth day of vacation. The first three days I would be decompressing and winding down, still sort of in the work stress mode. The fourth day would be wonderful. I would be fully present with my family and enjoying every second. The last three days I would be starting to stress about all the stuff I would have to do when I got back. That fourth day though, that day was amazing. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in the fourth day of vacation? Well we can’t, at least most of us who work can’t, but we can have the fourth day feeling every day.
we can have the fourth day feeling every day.
Putting your life in balance will allow you to have the same peacefulness that comes on the fourth day of vacation. You will not be worrying about things. You will not feel stressed or overwhelmed. You will be fully present with the people that you care about and experience each day in a new way. This does not mean you will never have stress or worry, it means that it won’t happen very often.
This piece is taken from the Introduction section of my book “Live Full, Live Well” (A user’s guide to achieving balance). Over the next week I will be bringing you content from Chapter One. I hope you enjoy it. If you would like to purchase the book you can do so at www.balanceprofessor.com.
