The zone
You know that voice in your head? The one telling you that you’re really awful?… That the world is doomed, so why even try?… That you’re an imposter?… That you really aren’t up to snuff (especially compared to them)?…Â
That’s the voice that a lot of us attribute to God. And usually, we do this unknowingly. We don’t even attribute it. It’s just… There. Speaking us into being (or away from being, actually). And it’s not just religious folks who fall into this trap; plenty of secular people do, too.
When life becomes about appeasing (or challenging) that voice, life becomes a battle. We go through life trying to justify ourselves against that voice.
This is why being ‘in the zone’ feels so incredible. The voice quiets. We’re not doing it in response to the accuser within (aka Satan). We’re doing it for the pure sake of doing it. We become human again. Free. In this way, our work can connect us with other humans because we’re not so concerned with the voice (or the voice that we project into thought bubbles above everyone’s heads). Our inner accusatory narrative is silenced in the sheer action we’re taking in that moment.Â
That’s when we can get to work, and it won’t feel like work. We become a clear channel where receiving and giving become the same thing.
...this is why it gets so hard to discern, because we invariably are the ones who do all the talking (and attributing). We ought to use the ratio of two ears and one mouth so we might be able to discern even an iota better. Great post, Jonas!