Viewing Life Moment By Moment
We can view our experience, living out our days, in various terms. We live in a particular century, decades perhaps, good days and bad days. We can even live “moment by moment.” How do you calibrate your conscious moments? Are you well-focused and attentive to what you are doing? Do you tend to drift from one task to another, one day to the next, thinking Thank God It’s Friday? How do you spend your time, and is it working for you?
Regardless of your conception of yourself and how you progress through the moments, you are always in the moment, whether you know it or not. Being conscious of these moments is where good things happen. In my book In The Zone: Making Winning Moments Your Way of Life, I tackle this question head-on.
If you’re not In The Zone, Where Are You?
The Struggle Of Modern Living
We see ourselves as busy people, doing too much with too little time. We also can see ourselves as pointless, with no prevailing purpose. We can see ourselves as but a blip on the cosmic scene, with billions of years preceding us and a speck in the vastness of the universe. Philosophers and scientists alike have struggled with this vastness since the beginning of human time. No one has come up with a convincing explanation. Some feel they have, and we see this not only in philosophy and religion but also in the lives of everyday people.
Fictional Finalisms
Fictional Finalisms are ideas we act on as if they are true. Examples: I believe there is an afterlife, and I try to ACT today in such a manner so I will find acceptance when presented with life after death. I think men are superior to women in almost everything, so I ACT in an authoritative, overbearing manner. I believe Democrats have a better view of things than Republicans, so I Act in a discriminating manner, casting my vote in that direction.
Fictional Finalism is not necessarily true, but we act as if they guide our daily lives, giving us the feeling that we are on the right track, doing the right thing.
Fictional Finalism guides us whether we are right or wrong. While these beliefs can provide direction, they often limit our willingness to learn and grow. Changing fictional finalisms may feel daunting, as most people prefer to defend their views rather than seek new perspectives and adjust their behavior. By recognizing these patterns and focusing on living in the present, we can develop a more informed and balanced approach to our lives. Living in the moment and being in touch with things as they are, at an immediate level, can be most informative and useful. Imagine you play basketball, believing you have a great team destined for a winning season. Excellent IDEA but of little value unless operationalized, which means you practice shooting, pivoting, focusing, and concentrating during each moment while practicing and on the court. In so doing, you are practicing what it takes to become a good basketball player as you are tuned into the moments where this can happen.
Basketball And Living In The Moment
Basketball, like everything else, occurs at the moment – and is best performed when it is fun and viewed as potentially rewarding. A basketball Fictional Finalism would be, “We’re a good team, and we will win regardless of the competitive challenges we face.” This may very well express a positive attitude, which is useful but not so helpful when it comes to playing the game well, making the shot that counts, and winning the season. This happens throughout millions of moments, and no Fictional Finalism can help us bypass that truth. We become what we do, and this prevails over those positive thoughts without a call to action – in each moment.
The Power Of Focus
Living in the moment is what we do. There is no escape. We can daydream and think about possibilities, but little happens until we focus on what we are doing and what it takes to achieve positive outcomes. So, why waste these precious moments mindlessly wandering through the passage of time? It is certainly useful to daydream, and this frequently provides the foundation for much creative thought. Daydreaming is about imagining. Focus in the moment is about DOING.
Building Practical Habits
Building practical habits comes from moment-by-moment activities conducted as routine, later to become automatic behaviors. Start by choosing activities you genuinely enjoy, such as learning scales on the piano, rudiments for playing drums, or passing a football to a quarterback just getting started. Focus on setting small, achievable goals for these activities and repeat them consistently until they become second nature. For example, schedule short, focused practice sessions each day to build momentum and reinforce your habits. All Peak Performers start with passion and dreams of becoming something, but they succeed by taking consistent, actionable steps in the present. We learn best when we understand the importance of living in the moment. Moments are where the action is, and this is when your brain develops the neuropathways driving performance excellence.
Practicing For Peak Performance
When you practice basic performance principles for Peak Performance, such as the skills offered in my In The Zone book (i.e., Relaxed Moves, Power Moves, Elastic Moves, and Focused Moves), you are developing neural pathways for excellence in many other activities requiring relaxation, balance, flexibility, and focus. Japanese culture offers a good example of how to proceed, demonstrating the value of consistent practice and expectation in cultivating habits that align with the broader theme of living in the moment. Let’s explore.
How To Acquire Habits
Let’s learn how learning habits leading to performance skills occur within the Japanese culture, a culture so different from our own. In Japan, there is an emphasis on “EXPECTATION” in terms of the acquisition of habits. The expectation is solid and unwavering, such as the attitude of parents raising children. We observe this in the following quote as reported by Anthropologist Ruth Benedict in her book The Chrysanthemum and The Sword:
“It is the habit that is taught, not just the action. Whether it is proper use of chopsticks in childhood, proper ways of entering a room, or the tea ceremony or massage later in life, the movements are performed over and over literally under the hands of grownups till they are automatic.”
Benedict goes further into the learning process as she describes the teacher’s attitude:
“Parents exercise their prerogatives, not by corporal punishment, but by their calm, unswerving expectation the child will live up to what is expected.”
Making Winning Moments Your Way Of Life
Acquiring the skills necessary for Peak Performance and all other aspects of daily life that are basic to success is a matter of developing effective, efficient, relevant, habitual moves. Correct movement skills are the key to success in all activity-based performances, whether playing the piano, basketball, bowling, chopping wood, climbing mountains, riding bikes, the art of mime, interacting successfully with others, or being an actor on the stage.
Learning Through Doing
No matter what you might want to achieve, it will involve DOING something of direct relevance to the skill(s) you wish to possess as habits. For instance, consider a budding musician learning the guitar. While envisioning themselves on stage is inspiring, their success ultimately depends on the hours spent practicing scales, chords, and transitions. Each deliberate moment of focused effort brings them closer to mastery, illustrating that skill-building thrives in the actions we take, not just the dreams we imagine. Martial Arts is another good example. Progression from white to black belt is a matter of learning basic skills, each required before advancing to the next level of challenge. A white belt becomes a black belt due to the sweat and grime involved in practice, practice, practice.
Love What You Do
For many, practice means doing something you “have to do” to get better versus what “you want to do” to achieve your goals. Some people enjoy practicing the piano, basketball, throwing, lifting, running, and jumping, and they are the ones who will eventually excel as their skills reach ever higher levels of performance excellence. This can be you, especially when you know what you love to do and enjoy doing it. This does not imply work and discipline are absent, as these also enter the complete equation for success. But, without appropriate passion, there is little likelihood that advanced skills will be acquired, and your work will be left in the dust heap of uncompleted tasks early on.
Seizing The Moment
Living in the moment is the key to unlocking your potential and achieving excellence in any endeavor. Whether through focused practice, habitual action, or a passion-driven mindset, every moment presents an opportunity to grow and improve. Embrace the present, align your actions with your goals, and turn your dreams into reality—one mindful, intentional moment at a time.