Most everyone is familiar with the expression “being in the zone”. It is a description of that elusive state of mind in which everything seems to happen effortlessly; the mind and body are in perfect synch. Athletes often talk about being in the zone after achieving their best result in a sporting event. They will make comments like, “It was like I was outside my body” or “Everything was almost effortless, like the world slowed down.”
It’s Not Just for Athletes
Although being in this state of peak performance is most commonly associated with athletics, its utility goes far beyond sports. We as eye surgeons can find ourselves in this state of enhanced performance as well. I think we’ve all experienced those days in the operating room where everything just seems to flow effortlessly, the team is in perfect synch and there is a rhythm to the day, with all the cases going perfectly.
We all love those days and walk out at the end of clinic feeling energized as opposed to drained by our efforts.
Zone On Demand?
So, why can’t every surgery day be like that? How do we make those days happen more often? It’s probably not realistic to expect to be “in the zone” every surgery day, but it is possible to increase the likelihood of having more of those days occur.
I recently came across a book that gives great insights into what we can do to put ourselves in this enhanced state of performance more frequently. Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life, by Jim Murphy, takes an in-depth look at processes that happen in the mind to create the “in the zone” experience—and ones that can keep us from accessing it. Much of his advice revolves around quieting the inner critic that exists in all of us to allow our abilities to flow out unhindered. I have found the techniques he describes very helpful in navigating surgery day, especially when things are threatening to go south.
For Our Patients and Ourselves
Our patients deserve our very best efforts as surgeons. Finding ways to be in the state of mind that allows us to perform at our highest level serves both us and them, so I hope you will explore ways that helps us access that state. The journey to “the zone” is one well worth taking. OASC
