[CTQ Smartcast LIVE] The Art of Focus: A Discussion on ‘Zanshin’
The members of the R3 Compound recently read about an interesting concept called Zanshin, a Zen state of awareness in Japanese archery and life. Reflecting together on what we read proved just as interesting! We came away from the discussion with a quiver full of insights and tips for adopting Zanshin for future relevance. [The R3 Compound is now the Choose To Thinq free Compound on Telegram. Click here to join]
The discussion was both insightful and fun. And it kicked off with a joke (inevitable, we think, as is often the case with relatable concepts).
As soon as the discussion commences, Nikhil quips, “I couldn't post my takeaway as I finished the article only just..I was sooo much into the process itself that I missed the target...”
Here he’s referring to a key aspect of Zanshin…
TAKING CARE OF THE PROCESS, DETACHING FROM THE OUTCOME
The end result is attractive. And, like Trilok points out, we’ve all been guilty of falling into the trap of aiming for it and not giving due respect to the process. But take care of the process, and it will automatically ensure a better outcome. Ganesh’s analogy of a production line emphasizes this fact.
Deepak and Trilok note that Zanshin is an embodiment of many other more familiar concepts, often heard of in sports – runner’s high, back to the basics, in the zone, the quiet eye, and flow. It’s all about concentrating on the journey and becoming disenchanted from the results.
This focus on the task at hand is most commonly observable in athletes like star tennis players, cricketers, footballers, and others.
When the greats are ‘in the zone’ they’re basically…
IN A STATE OF RELAXED AWARENESS
Trilok reveals what Serena Williams does when she wants to improve her performance on the court. She’s able to make a comeback by intentionally relaxing to reach a state of awareness.
The reason Serena is able to achieve the Zanshin state at will is probably that she’s applied another facet of Zanshin to it, which demands…
DELIBERATE PRACTICE
“करत-करत अभ्यास के जड़मति होत सुजान। रसरी आवत जात ते सिल पर पड़त निशान।“
Sanjay shares this couplet and follows it up with a story. In villages, there’s a well and a rope used to draw water. The rope touches the boundary wall, so every time water is drawn from the well, marks are left on the boundary wall. With repetition, the marks get etched even deeper. So, if we completely engross ourselves in an activity, do the same thing with focus and discipline, we’ll definitely leave a mark.
And as Ganesh points out, practice alone does not make perfect. It’s perfect or deliberate practice that makes a real difference.
If you compare the practice sessions of the elite athletes and the good athletes, you’ll see the good athletes being successful, but the elite athletes struggling. That’s because the elite athletes are testing themselves, stretching themselves, going beyond what they’re good at. This is why they perform so well when it comes to the hour of reckoning. How you practice and how much you’re pushing yourself makes a big difference in converting yourself from good to great.
Dharmendra, an experienced runner and running coach (Dhammo), comments that it’s an everyday struggle for him to pursue the process approach. And he doesn't mean struggle in a negative way but that it doesn't get easier from one day to another.
Maintaining such discipline is hard. But it all adds up if you…
JUST SHOW UP EVERY TIME
Omkar Yarguddi shares a suggestion by author James Clear who says there’ll be days when it’ll be extremely difficult to accomplish what you've set out to accomplish, from a habits’ perspective. On such days, it’s more important to show up, even if you only put in 2 reps instead of the usual 20, because skipping sets you back by a lot.
However, doing something repeatedly can get boring and the zeal for carrying the process forward can deteriorate. But you can stave off the boredom by remembering to…
MAKE IT FUN
The key is to enjoy the process, Nikhil reminds us.
Harish, the R3 Compound host and CTQ co-founder, shares the story of a supermarket bagger who found a way to make her job more interesting. She devised mini-challenges for herself – how quickly she can bag the grocery, can she do it in a way that entertains the customers, etc. Similarly, at the CTQ Reading Compound, we bring in novelty (variety of content) and gamify the task of reading (post takeaways) to keep the habit going.
You can also make following the process approach easier if you…
SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS
Eventually, the main motivation of the CTQ Reading Compound has become about reaching the next milestone (we’re looking forward to completing a thousand days of reading in a few months!).
Speaking of mini-goals, Trilok describes how cricketers focus on each over and not on the overall outcome. It all builds along.
Manas gives the example of Rahul Dravid who’s played 30,000+ deliveries in Test cricket. Dravid was able to do it because he was always focused only on dealing with the immediate delivery and the price of his wicket. Pursuing excellence, says Manas, requires breaking down the process into building blocks. Far too many times, while manufacturing in process organizations, the focus is on creating best-in-class quality but one forgets about the discipline that leads to it – tightening that bolt which might look insignificant but is not. The O-ring of the challenger being a case in point.
So, though the article we read prescribes Zanshin for everything, it’s probably a good idea to…
START SMALL & WITH SOMETHING TANGIBLE
Simplify the process of Zanshin itself by deciding where you’ll start with it.
Some of the areas where the R3 Compound members plan to apply Zanshin are reading, running a marathon, coding, sketching, fitness, learning, skill or habit development, H2W2 (Health, happiness, work, wealth), and (simplifying the process of health further) physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual health.
Knowing when and where to Zanshin can help you do it more effectively. And though it works well where things are more routine, there might be times when you need effectiveness more than efficiency. Ankur (whose thoughts are aligned to the Machiavellian style of thinking) feels that the process-oriented approach may not always work, especially in creative fields of study like design or innovation where randomness is involved. Visionary people, he says, such as Steve Jobs had to disconnect from the industry process in order to think out of the box to create ground-breaking and game-changing Apple devices.
Zanshin, therefore, is not a one size fits-all concept. In a similar vein, this is the case with the ways you can use to engage in Zanshin as well. In his book ‘Out of My Comfort Zone’, Steve Waugh writes about how he tried to document what worked for him – from the dinner he had to the red rag he carried in his pocket or the baggy green he wore. He tried to break down every single aspect of everything he did in a bid to find and replicate the circumstances that got him in the state of flow, which resulted in a century at times.
So…
FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
You can try some of the things that have worked for our R3 Compound members:
Visualize - Manas talks about the visualization techniques used by Hayden and others when they sat on the pitch the day before a match, trying to construct the inning they’d play the next day. Deepak adds that a lot of cricketers from the Rahul Dravid school of thought used to mumble "Watch the ball" to themselves, before every ball in Test cricket. We can see that evidently in Ajinkya Rahane's game too (presumably Dravid's protégé).
Reflect - In one of his books, life coach Marshall Goldsmith mentions that he would pay someone to call him every day and ask him 8-10 questions, such as, did you make the best effort to get better at so and so today. Based on his replies, he’d keep a score for himself. This is something Goldsmith also recommended to all whom he trained, some of the best minds in the world of business today.
Dopamine detox - Sanjay believes this can help concentration. Schedule some phone-free time to minimize the dopamine hits.
Pomodoro method - Another way to remove distractions and get in the zone. Learn about it here.
Journal - Harish usually writes down what he’s done or thinking in a notebook. After doing so, his time on the laptop proves more productive.
Doodle - Doodling helps Ankur in his profession of product development.
To-do list - In the process industry, there are a number of challenges that Manas faces daily. To deal with them, he makes a note of all the tasks he has to do on any given day and tries to link them with the ultimate outcome. He strikes the tasks off as they get done and sees how much of the outcome has been accomplished.
Meditation/yoga/self-hypnosis/focus on breathing - Some members have regularly managed to achieve a relaxed state of mindfulness with these methods.
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