JUST ONE THING
Breaking Free from the Zoning Out Trap
Episode 118
With Rick White, 180BIZ
In the past few episodes, we talked about getting in the zone. Now I’ll talk about another part of zones. That’s getting zoned out. There are two questions to ask yourself. It's not whether you're zoned out or not. It’s “When do you zone out?” and “How long do you stay there?” They are the two super-critical questions.
What causes you to zone out?
I've come up with a few things that will cause you to zone out. Especially for those who have a hard time with emotion. So, when we're feeling bad, we tend to take those bad feelings, put 'em in a box, up on a shelf, and just zone out. We could spend a day staring at the television, not watching it at all, being completely disconnected from our feelings. And here's the worst part, you can't zone out from just one area in your business. It's not like you have different permissions set up. I may want to feel loved, and I want to feel fun, but I don't want to feel sad, and I don't want to feel frustrated or angry. You can’t shut off some of them. That won’t happen. There's only one switch. If you want to shut down from your feelings, you will zone out from all of your feelings. Do you know who hurts the most besides yourself? It hurts the ones you're with. It hurts your team. It hurts your significant other. It hurts your family. It's like the lights are on, but no one is home. You're there, but you're not engaging. This is something I struggle with sometimes in my house.
We call it “checking out.”
Another thing that causes you to zone out is boredom. Nothing is exciting, nothing challenging, and we just start to zone out and do the minimum that we have to do.
A big part of zoning out is about being disconnected. You're disconnected from everything. And when you're disconnected, you are not driving. If you're not driving, you're letting situations, circumstances, events, and other people do the driving for you. And I hope you're like me and don't like that. I hope you're like me and say, “No, I want to drive.” Understanding and being aware of what we're feeling is a big deal.
A big part of zoning out is how long you're zoned out for.
Think about that for a second. Meaning that people give up early in their lives and go through the motions for most of it. That's just wrong. Sometimes talking with a client, I use a technical management term for this. I call it, “You got your head up, your ass.” Because that’s where it is. When you can recognize that is what's going on, you can get your head out and get back in the game.
As you zone out, things get tighter. Fear goes up and your comfort zone gets smaller and smaller. Fear becomes this insurmountable thing to get through. While you're zoned out to get away from everything, it doesn't mean the stuff that caused you to zone out went away. Zoning out doesn't fix anything. It actually exasperates it.
If you need a break, fine, give yourself a break. But set a timer.
Take a nap, go for a walk, or read a book. Do what you need to do. But set a timer. Avoiding your problems makes them get bigger and worse with time. The more you neglect a problem, the bigger the problem gets. And yes, some of the problems we must overcome suck. Some of you may have put them off for a while. I'm going through that right now. I've got this one thing that I've put off for probably five or six years. I'm finally dealing with it and it's painful. But by God, Brenda and I will get through it.
Avoidance is not the answer. Zoning out is not the answer. You are better off recognizing what you're feeling. Am I stressed? Am I overwhelmed? Am I mad? Am I feeling hopeless? Am I desperate? Am I feeling depressed and anxious? Don't bury that stuff. Find someone you can talk to about it. Sometimes just the act of talking can make a huge difference. Just because it causes you to sort things out. So logically you're going through it and all of a sudden you feel better. I can't tell you how many people are going through life zoned out. Don't do that. Life is too short. We don't know how long we have.
Recognize you're checked out.
Recognize you're out of the zone. And then get yourself back into one of the zones. Be in your comfort zone for a little bit. That's okay. Get into the growth zone. That's okay. Get into the learning zone. That's okay. But don't be zoned out.
Please share this video if you liked it and if you want to hear all of this put together plus more about getting in the zone, check out my Pocket Business Genius.
Stay safe. God bless. And, uh, have some fun this week and go make.
