Finding Your Zone: Ten Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life

This book is easy to read. It lays out what needs to be done to get into the optimal state of mind in which to do your best. Michael Lardon uses concise examples to illustrate his points, which seem to be:* Trust and believe in your dreams;* Prepare fully (practise a lot);* Transform desire (expressed through dreams) into will (by harnessing direction and goals to desire);* Keep everything as simple as possible;* Focus on process not product goals (avoid "monkey mind" where there is a lot of distraction and not much directed effort);* Approach emotions from different perspectives to keep things in context ("know-mind awareness);* Be intrinsically motivated, with extrinsic (especially material) motivation only to supplement the 'pure' intrinsic motivation;* Take action;* Build self-confidence by a) looking to what you've done well before, b) seeing yourself do what others are doing, c) modelling behaviours of others, and d) accepting the faith others express in you.I found the book enjoyable and intriguing, but to me it just hints at what to do to achieve the zone. This is a 162 page essay about what Lardon has observed is common to those who can get into the zone, not how to get there.For a complemntary book that is essentially the equivalent of a gym programme for the mind, I recommend "10 Minute Toughness: The mental training programe for winning before the game begins" by Jason Selk.

Brilliant. Simple. Easy recipe for success. The title of this book doesn't do it justice. So often, athletes say "I was in the zone" as synonymous with focus and athletic accomplishment. While true, that is only a small part of what Dr Lardon describes in this book. Dr. Lardon simplifies what we all need to achieve to succeed. The formula is the same for sport and life- a concept that I didn't believe before reading this book.This book can truly change lives. Lardon gives various examples of the successes of his strategy. That is, the strategy that he teaches us all to implement within the pages of his book. Following Dr Lardon's approach in endurance sports, I have seen amazing results. I've had the good fortune of placing in the top 5 of every race I've entered in the last 2 years. That's included Ironman triathlons, 50 mile runs and up to 520 mile bike race.The last race was a 300 mile bike race. I had been out, injured for the previous 6 months. In fact, I'm waiting to have both hips operated on now. With only 3 weeks to train, I took Dr. Lardon's process to heart. I focussed only on the pieces that have brought me success previously. My goal was to participate, nothing more. Many said it was silly for me to try. By staying focussed on the pieces of the race, I didn't even realize that I was in first place by 55 minutes when I crossed the finish.Dr. Lardon fuels the competitive spirit within us all in this book. I am fortunate to use the principles of this book on a daily basis in my life as well as in my career as a triathlon coach.

There are many good books on the mental game, and this is one of them. The author is a psychiatrist, but in this case he is no mere academic. He was a national caliber table tennis player in his youth, and has spent many years coaching athletes, esp on the PGA tour, on how to improve their mental game. What I really like is the emphasis on hard work, preparation and improving your motivation. There are no gimmicks, pat answers or simplistic formulas for getting into the zone as the author defines it. I don't find much appeal in his emphasis on trying to analyze and even direct your own dreams ( literally dreams that you dream when asleep, not dreams as in what you hope for). But this part of the text is the only place where he doesn't hit the nail on the head, and anyone who works through this and applies it will see not only their sports performance improve, but hopefully also will see their life in general also improve, as he emphasizes applying his principles in everyday life as well. As I said, this is one of the good books on the mental game, but I think that the author's extremely realistic and practical advice sets it apart from others I have read or browsed. And that you can apply it to your daily life is a bonus of the best sort!

I found this book after reading an excerpt in GolfWeek. It is a great read for sharpening your mental performance. I played professionally from 1996-2001 and always struggled with the mental side of the game. I tried Rotella/Valiante/Cohn/etc and all I felt was cliché gimmicks. Dr. Lardon actually has a method and strategy to improvement as opposed to "see it, feel it, trust it" or whatever. In 2008 I decided to dedicate myself to being competitive in state and national amateur golf tournaments. I read his book to try another strategy, and amazingly, using Dr. Lardon's methodology I was able to eliminate all the distractions in my head and focus on the task at hand. In the 2008 US Mid-Am I had a 12 footer for 29 on the opening 9 holes of stroke play and due to engrossing myself in his mental strategy I didn't even realize it was for 29 until after I knocked it in. I felt so strong in the mental process I was developing I decided to enter the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament that year as a 35 year old amateur...and made it through all four stages to the Nationwide Tour. His 2nd scorecard strategy, as well as numerous other methods truly allow the player to get in the right frame of mind for every shot. If you apply his recommendations correctly and consistently it will be a turning point in the development of your game. Absolutely a must for anyone who wants to elevate their game.

Great book easy to read and very motivational and inspirational

Unvergleichbar weil mir kein anderes Werk bekannt ist, dass so eindrucksvoll "die Zone" beschreibt und wie man in die Zone kommt. Damit ist ein Bewusstseinszustand gemeint, den man auch als "Flow" bezeichnet: wenn man Eins wird mit seiner Handlung. Bekannt auch aus Meditationserfahrungen verschiedener Kulturen. Inhalt des Buches ist dabei auch die richtige Vorbereitung, die entstehende Selbstsicherheit und ein übergeordneter Standpunkt mit Hilfe von Humor.

Ein guter, praktisch orientiertes Ratgeber, den ich sehr gerne gelesen habe. Spannend und motivierend geschrieben bietet das Buch eine ganze Reihe an Hinweisen, mit denen jede / jeder selbst arbeiten kann..

Excellent and authentic research article based on author's experience