A Directed Mind has Limitless Potential

“A distracted mind has no power, a directed mind has limitless potential.” 

~ Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat.

I am really passionate about this quote, really passionate. I think that the reason I use it so much when I train athletes is because I m certain that, had I been aware of the power of my mind when I was a collegiate runner, I would have met with more success and I would have suffered a whole lot less! 

In my last entry, I wrote about the first half of the quote, “A distracted mind has no power”. As homework, I suggested that you try catching yourself 10, 20, 100 times a day in various states of distraction. It’s often hilarious to notice just how far away we will go from what we need to focus on now! 

Get in the habit of catching yourself in being distracted. You’ll quickly learn how to “reel yourself back in” to a more directed and focused state. This sort of “checking in” with your mental state is the beginning of your mental strength training program. 

Remember that when you are distracted, whether on the court or in the classroom, you are in a weakened state. When you are directed or engaged, whether on the field or at work, you are in a much more powerful and effective state. 

Being focused in this way has been coined by sports psychologists as being in “in the zone” or “in flow”. Wikipedia describes this concept as follows: 

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. This concept was proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi the author of the ground breaking book, Flow. 

Wikipedia continues:

The legendary soccer player Pelé described his experience of being in the zone: "I felt a strange calmness.. . a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically.

Simply put, when an athlete is in flow, his or her focus is so intense and play elevated, they’re unstoppable. 

Whether you call it being in the Zone, in Flow or being Directed, it all boils down to the same results, being unstoppable. Sound enticing? We’ll continue to review how to become more directed using the training methods of yoga and meditation in the next few entries. 

Peace. Cara