Perfection!

“Consider what happens when Greg Louganis performs an extremely complicated dive like a reverse three-and-one-half somersault off the 10 meter tower. His normal procedure is to spot dive, that is, to briefly look back toward the tower to see where he is, and to use this information to time his opening. […] But Greg has such a high level of skill that simply reading the number no longer represents an altered state. This has become his normal level of consciousness during a dive.

It is extremely important to think of consciousness as being on a continuum.” (Page 36)

In this passage the author is describing an example of a moment when an athlete playing in the zone. I chose this passage because it draws the reader in as it depicts a perfect moment in sports that does not happen often. It also shows what every athlete strives for, which is to perfect his/her concentration and play in the zone as much as possible. The author uses the writing technique of using examples to demonstrate his theories for his reader. This is a useful way of getting his point across because he not only tells the reader what he is trying to say, he also gives them an example of how it can be used in sports. By showing the audience what it feels like when it is you playing in the zone, the audience relates to the text and thinks to when they have had moments where they where playing in the zone. I choose this passage because I can relate to having feelings such as this. The author does an excellent job on relating to the reader and allowing him or her to picture an event or recollect a time where they have experienced similar moments.

In addition to providing sport’s psychology advice for the reader, the audience can also relate to this passage in an academic way. When you’re in a test and you read the sentence, then BANG instantly the answer arrives in your head without putting any conscious thought into the matter because you know you’ve studied enough for the information to be easily accessible during the test. These moments which the author describes as “perfect moments”, or what he calls being in the zone, are few in number. This is why the author is showing the reader what one feels like so the reader can relate. Also, the author is telling the reader indirectly that we need to master the knowledge well enough to have less conscious thinking so we can perform in the “zone” more often.