I was a completely distracted kid on my first SEO 9-5 job.
I cared more about looking good on social media more than living a really good lifestyle.
One day in the middle of work hours at my previous 9-5, my boss called me to his cubicle.
My heart was pounding not knowing what would happen next.
I had already guessed, this was in store for me sometime.
I thought I would be fired and left jobless.
But luckily it didn’t happen, he gave me a deadline of 2 months to bring results or else I would be fired.
Imagining back, I clearly saw all the previous situations that lead me to that moment
❖ Checking my instagram likes every 20 minutes.
❖ thinking I mastered my SEO skill and learning nothing new.
❖ Chatting up and passing time with my colleagues instead of working.
❖ half-sleepy workdays due to late nights spent watching self-help videos.
My focus was a complete mess.
I was only able to do the bare minimum at my work because my mind was somewhere else.
That day, I decided to prove my worth to my boss.
That deadline put a fire in my ass and forced me to focus.
After a month of hard work all my efforts went good.
They started getting good traffic and sales.
It was the first ever situation in my life that made me realize the power of focus.
Seeing the results I brought, boss asked me to stay.
But I was done working for them, I burned out and quit my job.
I went to hike the Himalayas for 2 months to contemplate my life.
It put me out of my comfort zone completely and it flipped my perspective 360 degrees.
After feeling the taste of true freedom in that trip I never wanted to go back to work on a 9-5 again.
That’s how I started this journey.
Now I juggle between 3 projects.
- Client work.
- Projects I’m building.
- Linkedin and X.
I’m nowhere near fully realising my potential. But I can clearly see my progress.
It all comes down to a state of mind I’ve been exploring recently — which I call the Zero thought state of mind.
“Zero state is the state in which there is no mental friction and time gap between an idea and execution.”
When an idea comes to your mind, you execute immediately without your limiting beliefs and concepts blocking the action.
By making the Zero state natural to you, you can get things done effectively 3X faster than if you do your tasks from your normal mindless state.
Here are the things that help me get to the Zero state effortlessly
- Clearing my mind and being present
- Focus on just what’s in front of me
- Embracing uncertainty
Let’s expand in detail.
1) Clear your mind and be present:
Thinking makes action hard and dragging.
You will be lost in thoughts when its actually time to hit those tasks and see progress instead.
That’s why having a daily practice that helps to clear all your junk thoughts and relax before work is absolutely essential.
But It’s not easy to clear your mind and be still, if you haven’t explored your inner world before.
Realise this, your thoughts and feelings are the clouds that pass by and you are the clear expansive blue sky unaffected behind it.
You need to observe your mind, instead of getting identified with it.
To experience Zero-state, you have to go beyond your mind and view your world from the clear ever present thinker.
Here’s a question for you to ponder upon and explore:
If you can be aware of your thoughts, then who’s the one aware that you’re thinking?
You can start with a simple meditation practice or journaling.
The goal is to be with your thoughts without any distraction and see what’s hindering your effortless action and let go of those thoughts.
Here’s what you can do to clear your mind
- Sit in a comfortable position.
- Allow all your thoughts to come and go.
- You will get carried away by your thoughts often, it’s okay.
As you practice this more and more, you will become more conscious, clear and frictionless when you actually do your work.
It’s hard to look at your own blind spots that keeps you stuck, but the only way out is through.
This daily practice will help you reduce the mental friction and execute on your ideas fast.
2) Focus on the work in front of you
I had a great revelation few months ago.
I was too focused on the result that my work quality became a mess.
My mind was focused on the future and constantly hurrying to reach the end goal.
Instead of being in the present and actually doing the work that takes me there.
The secret to efficient work is being fully focused on your inputs not in the outputs that work brings.
To put things into perspective, imagine this:
You got 1000 dirty plates to clean.
If you focus excessively on the mammoth task of cleaning 1000 plates, you will overwhelm yourself and give up.
This is what you should do instead.
Clean the plate in front of you as best as you can, then enjoy looking at the plates shine.
Then go to the next plate and do the same.
By doing this, you will clean 1000 plates effortlessly without you even knowing.
Why this happens is, because in reality you are just cleaning one plate at the moment.
But your logical mind makes you focus on the 1000 plates and you will lose precious mental energy and overwhelm yourself in the process.
To completely lose yourself and flow through your tasks, do this
- Outline the steps involved in completing a task.
- Take that first step and stick onto it without distracting.
- At one point you will lose yourself and become one with the task.
- After that, all the tasks start to stack behind one-by-one and completes itself.
When you feel overwhelmed, rest and look back at how far you’ve come. Give yourself a mental boost.
This is how you complete your daily tasks as fast and effortless as you can without any friction.
3) Embrace uncertainty:
Life is uncertain. You have to accept it.
You never know whether you will live tomorrow or not.
Most people have a thirst for control. When they actually don’t have control over their breath.
When you seek control, you’re always thinking in logical steps trying to micromanage stuff and it makes you narrow minded.
You will be already fixated on what to do next.
By doing so, many opportunities for improved work in the present passes you by without registering in your awareness.
Let’s imagine this scenario:
A man is catching 1 or 2 fishes with his fish hook daily and he doesn’t know about fish nets.
He is too closed minded to try catching fishes with fish net.
So even when an opportunity arises to catch 100s of fishes with fish net, he throws it away without even thinking.
That’s what a narrow mind does to you.
To embrace uncertainty do this:
- Have a clear vision.
- Test out one strategy to reach that vision.
- Look for the feedback you get.
- If you can’t see micro progress, experiment new strategies.
So, have a vision. But be fluid on the path to actualize your vision.
Let life surprise you and you will find a better path to your vision, when you act and embrace uncertainty.
Implementing zero state in growing your Biz:
You can implement the 3 principles of zero state to grow your business.
Principle 1:
Clear your mind from shiny objects and get into the present to find what’s your situation honestly and take the next best step.
Principle 2:
Don’t be too consumed by your big goal that you overwhelm yourself. Find the core problem that you have to solve now to reach your next level and continue.
Principle 3:
Nothing is certain in business.
If you struggle to bring results, you might just be doing the wrong things.
Replace the strategy that’s not working and try a new one.
This is how you progress with Zero state on a macro business level.