Why the process—not the outcome—is where performance lives

In this episode of Set Your Mind, Dr. Stephen Ginsberg explores a counterintuitive idea in performance psychology: getting lost might be exactly what you need.

He begins with a vivid childhood memory—being six years old, locked out of his grandparents’ house, completely alone, and panicked. That feeling of being lost is miserable, and most of us spend our lives trying to avoid it at all costs.

But when it comes to performance, avoiding “being lost” may be the very thing holding us back.

There is another kind of getting lost—one that elite performers know well. It’s the state of being fully present, completely absorbed, where the score, the outcome, and even self-conscious thoughts fade away.

That state isn’t panic. I ...