Using the ‘State of Play’ to Cure Stressful Symptoms

From freak athletes like Lebron James. To GOAT rap freestylers like Harry Mack. You’ll find that these extraordinary individuals all share the same characteristics. Such as hard work, talent, determination, vision, resilience, good communication skills, drive to keep learning, and the way they overcome stressful symptoms.

One aspect often overlooked and underutilised is the ability to get into the “state of play”.

Harry Mack once freestyled for 10 hours straight, with only a 30-second break to pee. Despite only planning to freestyle for 6 hours. But because of a dare from one of his subscribers, through the comment section. He pushed himself to 10 hours – All in the name of charity. 

He attributes this feat to the “state of play”. Some people call it “the zone or flow state”.

What people misunderstand is that they think it only happens randomly or spontaneously — Like a magical trance. — But in fact, it can happen anytime. All this can be possible with excellent planning and a bit of work, which takes time and effort.

Here are three steps to get into this magical and mysterious state:

Being ahead vs Being on time

Do you think you’ll feel stressed whenever you finish your project on time? Or not?

The thing is. Is that you’ll always be stressed if you do it on time — because, as human beings, we always want to get things done right.

But what we do consistently. Is always underestimate the time it takes to do something.

Back in high school, I would always do my assignments last minute. I’d submit it to the teacher, and just before handing it over, I’ll have a quick read. Only to find that I could’ve done a few things better — if I had more time.

If you’re a perfectionist like me, you’d want to be well ahead of the whole sequence (finishing your projects, assignments, articles, etc., well in advance). The remaining time will allow you to tweak or add stuff well ahead. You couldn’t have done that if it was due sooner rather than later.

You know. That feeling of being ahead of time, where you have all this time to waste on playing around. Because the moment you start doing something at a certain standard. That’s when it stops being playful.

The pressure from this standard will reduce the impact on the quality of your work.

What this shows us is – What makes us stressed is not the work but the lack of preparation.

That’s how genius composers and great artists come up with inspirational and astonishing work.

When creativity is not restricted and allowed to run wild to experiment, that’s when masterpieces are born.

Being on time is the problem. Being on time always feels stressful — giving us only one shot to get things right.

Exploring Different Angles 

Suppose someone is asking you to take a photo of a glass of water. You’d quickly get bored. But if someone asks you to take 20 pictures of the same glass. Then, that’s when you start getting creative, making it more dynamic, making the object colourful and full of life.

So, if you’re fighting a deadline and just finishing on time is your thing, you won’t have enough time to approach it from another angle because there’s always a different approach to the same thing.

Approaching your project from another angle can only be made possible if you’re well ahead of your deadline.

If you’re wondering, how do you get into the state of play? 

It’s when you realise that you’re doing more than what’s being asked of you—making little adjustments, adding more value, etc.

But if you’re strapped for time and have little of it, you should stick to the bare minimum. Then use the rest of the time to go after different angle points of view. You don’t have to do 20 angles. Two or three is proficient enough.

Like, practise. You don’t need to keep practising to get the best results. Just look at the world from different angles, and your results will speak for themselves. Way more than practising the same thing. Over and over and over again.

“Insanity. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” —Albert Einstein

The more you can see different angles, the better your overall project.

Utilising Tools to Enhance Productivity

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I had to master Photoshop to design websites and edit photos and graphics for social media. However, the software was overwhelming, and simple tasks like removing backgrounds would take about 20 minutes.

But, as soon as Canva (an online graphic design tool) came out. It revolutionised my productivity tenfold. Now removing backgrounds from an image takes just a few seconds.

A lousy carpenter would blame his tools, but a good carpenter will have excellent tools.

I know. Only some have access to or can afford fancy tools such as software. But if you can. And you’re still using the old ways. Then you’re just putting more challenges on yourself.

I prefer drawing diagrams on paper rather than taking photos on my phone. But I only do this because I want to. Suppose I need to capture it more quickly because I’m being productive. Then I’ll take a picture of it and store it on one of my apps.

Tools matter and professionals know this fact. Hence, they are willing to spend big bucks on tools that will help increase their productivity and creativity to add to their bottom line.

All in all, if you’re not looking to get the best tools for your work, then remember that you’re the one adding the roadblocks to your success.

In summary, being in the state of play can bring your best foot forward. And can be achieved with these three steps: being ahead of time, exploring different angles, and utilising tools to enhance productivity.

Stress can negatively impact your work, so it’s important to finish well ahead of time so that you can view it from different angles and do experiments with it. Because the more you work on the deadline, the less you’ll be able to reach the state of play.