The Opposite of Being in the Zone
Many of us seek a flow state in our work. However, we often also encounter an emotional state I call the “panic state,” where nothing we do seems to work. By relaxing into the sense of overwhelm, and introducing small successes, we can gradually overcome the panic state.
The Zone and the “Panic State”
Wikipedia defines “being in the zone,” or more formally, the flow state, as “the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.” All of us have experienced it, and many of us seek to recreate it in our work.
There’s also something that’s the opposite of being in the zone.
I recently reconnected with an old friend—let’s call her Camille—who, like me, is a lawyer who went into consulting. Camille told me about an experience she had on an internal diligence project, where she was tasked with preparing a set of financial projections. Camille remembered staying up until 2am working on a spreadsheet which she had to present four hours later (international project). When recalling her somatic experience, she described her stomach flipping over and over, and a sense of “oh my God, I’m going to throw up.” Her fear of doing a bad job was confirmed when, shortly after the client presentation, the partner in charge angrily called to ask, “WTF was that?”
I call this emotional state the “panic state.” It’s what happens when due to negative self-talk and limiting beliefs (usually created by a negative past experience), we get into our own heads, get overwhelmed, are unable to access knowledge and mental resources we’d have in a calm state, and end up doing such a bad job that the negative belief is confirmed further. In taekwondo class, we used to break wooden boards. The master would tell us to hit the board with full strength and full belief that we would break the board. I was able to do that with a kick or an elbow, since I wasn’t afraid of hurting my foot or my arm. But I was never able to do that with my fist, since I was afraid of hurting my hand—so subconsciously I’d pull back at the last second, not have enough force to break the board, and end up hurting myself anyway.
The Fear State and Negative Reinforcement
The panic state is especially pernicious because it feeds on itself.
When a person starts with a negative belief about themselves, encounters a situation where that belief comes into play, subconsciously takes some of their resources away due to fear, and then experiences a negative result, the person gains further evidence that the negative belief is true. The belief becomes stronger over time, to the point where eventually the person freezes immediately upon encountering the trigger (as Camille did with the spreadsheet).
I see this very often in matters of money and finance. Many of the people I’ve talked to experience the sensation of being immediately frozen and overwhelmed when even looking at a spreadsheet, let alone being asked to do anything with it. I even see it in my finance class, comprised of undergraduates who voluntarily chose to attend a business school. I can show them a financial statement we just discussed and some of them can’t tell me anything about it. I can see the paralysis on their faces, and even sense the physical sensation of frozen panic—the tightness in the chest, the shallow breathing—in their bodies. They know the answer. They just can’t access it.
From Panic to Power
The good news is that the panic state can be beaten, and the change can happen quickly.
In my experience, these negative beliefs are often in opposition other aspects of the mind that desire the positive results from working with spreadsheets or finance or whatever the person feels limited about. These other aspects often feel anger or frustration at the lack of results. I think of them as two lawyers arguing a case. Unfortunately, the negative beliefs win because they have evidence on their side.
However, when you introduce positive evidence into the courtroom, the dynamic can change quickly.
As soon as someone like Camille realizes that she can do financial analysis, the edifice around the negative beliefs starts to crumble. These types of beliefs usually have unspoken absolutes attached to them—meaning, the belief “I’m not good with money” is actually “I’m not good with money ever.” The negative belief requires negative results 100% of the time. Once a person starts to get positive results, the negative belief has to transform into something milder, like “I tend to make mistakes with money.”
Getting to positive results is the hard part, because a person that’s overwhelmed can’t access the emotional resources to get a positive result in the first place. When I’m working with someone I usually ask them to slow down, using breathing exercises, eyes closed, etc., to melt the physical sensation of being frozen first. When the body is relaxed, the lesson can begin. I like to focus on getting quick wins for the student, so they can immediately start practicing what they learned and start to build that body of positive evidence.
Whatever approach we take, I can tell you that the results are like magic. Panic turns into power, fear into excitement, and people start to feel a sense of hope, like they maybe aren’t as broken as they thought and they really can see their dreams become a reality.
It’s a joy to see.
Exercise
I am usually okay with journaling or whatever, but this one you actually need to do. This exercise is about initially relaxing the panic state, rather than building up the positive evidence.
1) Noticing and action
What’s a task that you find overwhelming, because you just aren’t good at it?
Immediately start to work on it. Notice the feeling of being overwhelmed, or feeling frozen and stuck, as you start on it.
2) Slow down
As you notice the “panic state” coming on, slow down. Close your eyes and use your favorite calming breathing exercise.
3) Slow down again
You probably didn’t slow down enough. Try it again!
4) The first step
Take the first step of your task, and only the first step. If you need to organize your personal finances, it could be making a list (and doing nothing else) of all the accounts you need to pull. If it’s a spreadsheet, it could be making a list of the tabs your spreadsheet will need. If it’s planning your wife’s surprise birthday party, figure out when her birthday is.
Complete the first step, and only the first step. Congratulations, you’re done for the day! How do you feel?