Bill Nelson

Auto Pilot v Engagement

Wednesday 1st September 2010

If I were to show you a list of twenty words each one listed under the other. I give you one minute to read through the list with the understanding that in five minutes I will the ask you to tell me as many of the words from that list as you can remember.

How do you think you would go?

What about as an extension of this I then presented you with another list of twenty words similar to our previous test with each word listed under the other, however this time every word has one single letter missing. You are still given the minute to study the list and you are also given the five minutes before you are asked to remember as many words as you can.

How do you think you would go on the second test?

Well I cant give you the exact numbers that you might get in both tests but I would be fairly confident that you would remember more from the second list than from the first?

Why?

In the first test you are on autopilot you see the word you see the next word and so on you don't really have to think to much about them, you just take them in without to much judgement.

Whereas in the second test you are positioned and almost conditioned to have a higher level of recognition, evaluation and understanding.

This increased recognition comes about because you will need to read, appraise and understand the words just a little more carefully so that you can insert the appropriate missing letter.

From this increased level of investigation you are engaging your brain to a higher degree, you heighten your levels of awareness and interpretation and from that increased engagement you are able remember more of the list!

Now I am all for the concept of being in the zone. As matter of fact after being a professional sports coach for the past thirty years you spend a lot of time working with athletes so they are in the zone.

You work with them to be in that magical place where everything they are working towards is happening. Their levels of awareness are increased, their ability to read what has happened, and will happen is through the roof.

Every piece of process based activity needed to achieve their goals is being successfully accomplished with what seems like very little effort.

Some have described being in the zone as where things are happening, exactly the way you want them to, except it is like you don't even have to think about it, it just happens.

Ah yes, you almost had me there.

In fact I was with them right up to that point of it's like you don't even have to think about it.

There are a lot of things in our life that we can do without really thinking about it. But that doesn't mean that you will get the best result by going onto auto pilot.

There is huge difference from easily going through the motions with effortless ease and being in the zone.

When you are in the zone you are doing it all with a certain flow but it is far from effortless. You are thinking about it, you are focussed to the point of knowing what is going to happen well in advance of it actually happening.

This state doesn't come easy, and it doesn't always come often.

Try the test above so that you can recognise the benefits from being engaged, involved and aware.

The lesson, make sure you are an active participant whilst you are in the zone, that you are engaged and not just going with the flow.

There is a huge difference between auto pilot and being in the zone as are the results both states will bring.

The Journey Continues!