{"id":45953,"date":"2024-02-19T03:57:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T11:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/?p=45953"},"modified":"2024-12-05T14:51:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T22:51:20","slug":"q-how-can-i-get-in-the-zone-more-often-when-driving-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/q-how-can-i-get-in-the-zone-more-often-when-driving-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Q: How can I get in the zone more often when driving on track?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q<\/strong>: \u201cSome days I seem to be in the zone and drive at my best, and other days I have a much harder time driving that way. What\u2019s going on? It\u2019s like I\u2019m Jekyll and Hyde! How can I drive better more consistently? How can I get in the zone more often when driving on track?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: One thing I know for sure is that what gets you in the zone (or flow, as it\u2019s often called) is not necessarily what gets another driver in the zone. We\u2019re all different, and different things \u201ctrigger\u201d us getting into that flow state.<\/p>\n

Thirty years ago, I started studying various parts of sports psychology, and specifically this performance state called flow or zone. I\u2019ve coached thousands of drivers in this subject, and conducted hundreds of seminars and workshops on the topic. Through all of that, I\u2019ve found common traits, behaviors, and tactics for helping individuals get into the zone more often. Not one hundred percent of the time (that may be impossible), but more often than if they didn\u2019t use the strategies I gave them.<\/p>\n

The first thing I suggest you do is think back to each and every time you felt in the zone, and recall the state of mind you were in before, during, and after driving. And going forward, I strongly suggest you keep some form of notes or a log of what you did and felt before, during, and after each time you drive. After a while, you\u2019ll begin to notice a pattern, one that you\u2019ll be able to deliberately use to help you get into the zone more often.<\/p>\n

The state of mind that you\u2019re in just before performing \u2014 driving \u2014 on track will make a difference. By state of mind, I\u2019m talking about your emotional state \u2013 happy, sad, anxious, nervous, calm, relaxed, fearful, confident, excited, etc. Think back to when you were in the zone, and identify what combination of all of those emotions made up your state of mind. Most drivers find that there is a certain recipe of those emotional ingredients that lead to performing at their best, in the zone.<\/p>\n

A tactic I use often with drivers is asking them to replay in their minds one of the best performances of their lives, one of the greatest experiences of their lives. This doesn\u2019t have to be about driving. In fact, it could be while playing another sport, fully involved in a hobby, leading a business meeting, or anything else. Take a few minutes right now and identify just one really great moment in your life when you performed at your best in some activity. Vividly replay every detail, from how you felt before to how you felt afterward; what you were focused on during the activity; and what you noticed when it was all over. The more accurately, the more detailed you can make this recollection, the more effective it will be.<\/p>\n

By replaying a past success, it\u2019s more likely you\u2019ll put yourself back into the \u201cperformance state of mind,\u201d and the more likely it is that you\u2019ll get in the zone again.<\/p>\n

Understand, this is just one tactic to help you get in the zone more often. But it is one of the most effective I\u2019ve used, and it\u2019s easy to do.<\/p>\n

Preparation helps in a couple of ways. First, with more knowledge and practice, you\u2019re more likely to use the right skills and techniques at the right time. And second, when you\u2019re prepared, you\u2019re confident. If you have some doubt about not feeling prepared, it may lead to a less-than-zone performance.<\/p>\n

As part of your preparation, mental imagery (or visualization, as it\u2019s often called) of performing at your best will help, too.<\/p>\n

And this is just the start! But if you start here, in a deliberate way, you\u2019ll get in the zone more often. And when you do, it becomes easier and easier to get back in the zone, just like an upward and positive spiral.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve created and offer a few different resources to win the \u201cmental game\u201d of driving, from Mental Imagery Guide for Drivers eBook<\/a> to the Inner Speed Secrets 201 eCourse<\/a> and my Ultimate Speed Secrets<\/em> book, and to past and future live webinars.<\/p>\n

Finally, keep in mind that the zone is not an on-off switch. It\u2019s a spectrum, where you can be anywhere along it, from \u201cmy performance sucked\u201d to \u201cI was in the zone and performing at my very peak.\u201d So, even though you may not perform at your very best, you may not be very far from it. And trying to force being in the zone will never work. In fact, sometimes the best way of getting in the zone is to not try, not worry about, and to just let it happen. That is partly a state of mind, but also a mindset one needs.<\/p>\n

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Q: \u201cSome days I seem to be in the zone and drive at my best, and other days I have a much harder time driving that way. What\u2019s going on? It\u2019s like I\u2019m Jekyll and Hyde! How can I drive better more consistently? How can I get in the zone more often when driving on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[57,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask-ross","category-driving-tips"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45953"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107860,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45953\/revisions\/107860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speedsecrets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}