What is Performance Flow and How You Can Create It

Socceristas, let’s talk about performance flow, aka getting in THE ZONE. As soccer players, we’ve all experienced that magical feeling when everything around us just falls into place. That place where our communication is spot on, our confidence soars, time seems to slow down, and we see everything on the field with great clarity and understanding.

This is the zone. This is the place all socceristas dream to be playing from. 

Most soccer players know about the zone. They’ve heard someone talk about it, or they’ve had a direct experience with it themselves. The thing about the zone is that it is elusive. Meaning it comes and goes, and nobody ever really seems quite sure exactly how to keep it around. It’s slippery and hard to hang onto for more than a small chunk of time.

So, what’s so great about being in the zone?

Socceristas love being in the zone during a soccer game because the zone is where you play your very best soccer. The zone is where your passion, focus, energy, intensity, urgency, patience, and smarts all come together perfectly, and you just know what to do. Your ability to adjust and pivot to the changing game environment around you is effortless and spot-on in the zone.

In other words, in the zone, YOU ARE ON FIRE.

The first step to accessing the zone is understanding the conditions that lead to performance flow. And this starts with being invested and educating yourself by being a student of the game. One of the best ways to do that is to learn from the experts. There’s no better expert on performance flow than George Mumford, the mindfulness and performance expert that helped change the game for countless athletes, including basketball greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (here’s a breakdown of why every soccer player should read Mumford’s book, The Mindful Athlete).

“We’re all interested in the secrets of the Zone experience because it’s the ultimate experience of optimal performance in sports. It’s also, by the way, a key to eureka moments and breakthroughs in the arts and sciences. And it’s a pathway to happiness and a glimpse into something much bigger and far more expansive than ourselves.” – George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete.

How do you get into the zone?

Having a better baseline understanding of where performance flow comes from is important because socceristas need to understand that it’s not just something that you get lucky and have one day (which does happen), but it’s something you can actually create yourself. And the key to creating performance flow is a constant presence–being fully tuned in and present to what is happening, with no past or future thoughts to impede your focus.

Here are some actions you can take to help you learn how to stay present and not drift to the past or future in your thoughts. Keep in mind that habits like these take a long time to build. But if you are truly dedicated to unlocking the secrets of performance flow and learning how to get into the zone, it is within your control. You just have to be invested, patient, and dedicated.

• Start a meditation practice. This one is on every player’s wishlist, but if you want to be able to get into the zone, you need to start doing this now.
• Practice using self-talk to help you stay focused on what is in front of you and not living in the past, overthinking, and replaying mistakes.
• Do more yoga. Not only does this physically help your game by increasing strength and balance, but it also helps with staying present and composed.
• Practice breathwork for self-regulation and emotional control. Breathwork is a skill that will help your mind stay present and calm when under pressure.
• Focus on process goals during games, not outcome-based goals (because outcome goals keep you focused on the future, not the present).

How you see yourself creates your reality

If you want to be able to get into the zone and access performance flow, the biggest piece of advice is that you really have to believe in yourself. Truly and deeply. The zone is where the highest level of confidence and self-efficacy shows up, and if you don’t actually believe in yourself, you will never be able to get there.

Your beliefs and what you think about yourself show up in everything you do. Most of our beliefs about ourselves are extremely deep-rooted and hard to overcome. They are limiting.

Limiting beliefs are things that we believe about ourselves or about the world around us that limit our ability to maximize our potential and reach the top of our game.

Socceristas, it’s time to let go of limiting beliefs. It’s time to experience your greatness and get into the zone!