Peeking into the Zone of Genius

February graced us with a "bonus day" due to Leap Year, yet it still seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. January had us shaking off the holiday festivities and striving to stick to our New Year’s resolutions, but by February, we were back in full swing.

Fortunately, February had me peeking into my Zone of Genius more than in previous months.

For those unfamiliar with the term, the Zone of Genius is where you bring your unique gifts to the world. When you're in this Zone, time flies, you're in complete flow, and everything feels effortless. If this concept intrigues you, I highly recommend reading The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. I revisit it at least twice each year.

As part of my quest to Shed the Heavy, I was determined to spend more time in my Zone of Genius. This month, I found myself living in this Zone for nearly a full week, and on many other days, I was there quite frequently.

Mid-month, I took a trip to New York City with my daughters, mom, and sister, and the entire journey felt effortless. We had a loose itinerary planned, and during our free moments, we went where our mood and energy took us. It was a memorable trip that reminded me of how much spending time with my family and exploring new places aligns with my Zone of Genius.

Upon returning to Ohio from NYC, I stayed at the airport and immediately boarded a flight to Las Vegas, where I took the stage in front of 400 sales professionals at their annual kickoff meeting.

Speaking is an activity that is fully in my Zone of Genius. I spent two-hours with the team, which is quite lengthy for a keynote speaker. I welcomed the challenge of not only crafting a memorable and interactive experience, but also delivering it with excellence and engaging the entire audience throughout.

I knew I was in my Zone of Genius when I found myself adding new elements to the presentation in real-time. Many speakers might never consider doing this, opting instead to stick to tightly choreographed routines. With ample time, a receptive audience, and a high level of self-awareness, I embraced the moments to let the magic to unfold with the audience.

And you know what? Those spontaneous moments turned out to be the highlights of the presentation, and will now become recurring elements within my keynotes and workshops.

What I know about the Zone of Genius is that you can feel it when you are there AND it makes the days and hours spent in the Zone of Excellence and Zones of Competence and Incompetence nearly unbearable. 

Although I recognize the feeling and understand which activities bring me there, I know I still have work to do to fully inhabit that space.

Despite delivering the keynote with as much energy and expertise as I had, the moment I left the ballroom, I couldn't help but immediately focus on all the ways I could've improved, the points I failed to include, and the moments when the content didn't quite resonate as expected.

In hindsight, I realize I should have focused on the surprising moments in the presentation. For instance when the audience:

• Cheered for me when I revealed my new tattoo
• Gave a shout-out to my 11-year-old daughter for encouraging me to "slay" on stage
• Beat me to the punchline of my own story (in a fun way)

Those are the moments worth cherishing and reliving, not ruminating on the sentence that only I know didn't make it into the presentation.

This is a reminder that we are all works in progress. I'd gladly take a glimpse into the Zone of Genius over a month-long stint in my Zone of Excellence.

• When do you find yourself in your Zone of Genius? 
• What steps can you take to inhabit that space more frequently? 
• And how can you avoid your version of the post-presentation downward thought spiral?

Share your ZoG moments and what you can commit to do today to live there more fully! 

Thank you for reading this article. I draw on my experiences as a coach, author and speaker, as well as my roles of wife, daughter, mother, sister and friend to create content on meaningful connections and living authentically. I'm currently documenting my 6-month Quest to "Shed the Heavy" and invite you to subscribe and follow along. Other work that might be of interest: 52 Weeks of Meaningful Connections and my bestselling book Let Her Out: Reclaim Who You Have Always Been.