Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most celebrated musicians in the world and often speaks about moments on stage where he loses all sense of self and time: the purest form of flow.

During a 2014 interview, he described it this way:

“There are moments in performance when I’m no longer thinking about the notes. The cello almost plays itself, and I’m just… listening. That’s when the music feels alive, not as something I’m doing, but something happening through me.”

But…. it can go wrong.

Yo-Yo recalls one particular concert at Carnegie Hall where a string broke mid-performance. Instead of panicking, he continued seamlessly adapting in real time, fully immersed in the moment. The audience never lost the emotional thread because his focus never broke.

I‘m lucky to have experienced A Zone focus in performance, but recently the opposite happened. I was in a rehearsal with one of the bands I play with. It had been a while since we had played together. At one point I was thinking about everything and ‘trying to do things right’. This created mental and physical tension which was unsettling. So, I dropped my shoulders, moved my focus away from me to the band and the music surrounding me. The tension started to slip away and I started to flow more.

Lesson: A Zone focus doesn’t just apply to music and isn’t about rigid control. It’s about letting go of fear and trusting your mastery (your skill), so that you merge with the act itself.

Some call it being in the NOW.

Georg Voros is a Performance Consultant with 45+ years of top-level experience and author of two books on performance. He delivers high-impact workshops on productivity and flow, and offers tailored mentoring packages to support personal growth and achievement. Learn more at www.vorosperformance.co.uk

Photo: stringsmagazine.com