Are You Zoned In Or Zoned Out?

I remember getting Pepper as a puppy! She was very energetic, curious about everything, and expressed little fear. At only a few weeks old her ears did not fully stand up but would attempt to every time something caught her attention. Pepper had a do-or-die attitude early on and when she concentrated on we were teaching her she was TOTALLY in the zone. With such an in-tune focus, it wasn’t any time at all and she picked up each new skill with ease. Pepper put every ounce of intelligence, body posture, vision, hearing, and get up and go into being zoned in. She never zoned out, ever! Zonked out maybe, zoned out, never.

As Pepper reached adulthood she became a valuable asset to our family. She is smart, protective, alert, playful, and not overly vocal when a stranger approaches our home. Peppers’ ability to get in that intense concentrative headspace set her apart from all the other dogs we ever had. The other dogs might have it to some degree but nothing like the laser alignment she possessed.

However, as humans go, middle age can really bite at times! Zone? What zone? Unlike Pepper, there are moments in my day where multiple distractions take me away from the tasks I want to complete. The original focus can become confused. My performance tanks and my productivity slides. Do you ever feel this way? Consequently, we need to be more diligent and proactive in maintaining our focus as we age. Here are a few tips I found that help me at least find the zone.

9 Tips To Get In The Zone

• Prayerfully ask the Lord to help you prioritize your workload
• Set a goal to complete
• Narrow your focus
• Make a checklist
• Eliminate interruptions and as many distractions as you can
• Harness your rhythm
• Find an enjoyable aspect to the work
• Work to your best advantage for peak focus and performance – the most alert time of day for you

Don’t you believe that you can’t teach an old dog a new trick! That really depends on the dog or in our case the person. Therefore, it is my opinion that we are all worth investing the time in ourselves and our pets to learn something new. Howbeit, at a gentler pace. Be good to yourself and keep a teachable spirit. It will help you stay zoned in, instead of zoned out! Happy Fur Baby Friday! Ya’ll be good!