Let the State of No Thought Drive You

Surrender yourself to the state of no thought

I was led by a group of students into a huge auditorium. To my surprise, it was already filled with people. 

In the front row was a group of professors and one of them stood up as I walked in and immediately put a garland of weird smelling flowers around me. The hall broke into a thunderous applause and while it felt nice, I still had zero idea of what was going on. 

“Thanks for coming, Abhijeet. The stage is all yours,” the prof chuckled as he handed over a mic to me. 

“Umm, for what exactly?” I asked with a bewildered expression on my face. 

“Oh, we are all here to see you speak and hear your story!” 

It struck me then. I must have missed an email or two. 

***

The year was 2014. I had come to this college to participate in a panel discussion. 

I was picked up from the airport by a bunch of lively students who seemed more excited than I was for the day’s events. One of them kept murmuring, “Sir, it will be cool, are you ready?” … it was just a panel, what did I need to be ready for? I didn’t pay much heed to his frequent remarks. 

I should have paid more attention to this young chap’s excitement and should have asked him some follow up questions because then I’d have known their plan which was mentioned in their email and which I ended up reading after my session.

They organized a pre-event keynote speaker session and the entire college was already told that today’s the day when they’ll learn how to build a business, from someone who never went to college. 

And then there I was standing in front of hundreds of curious faces, who had taken time out to hear and watch me speak. 

I was, of course, totally unaware and unprepared. Not just that, I had little public speaking experience. I did participate in debates and declamations in my school years, and also won a few, but it all happened after ample preparation. 

This time, my audience wasn’t a group of mellow school students. Instead, I faced a crowd of boisterous college-goers who wouldn’t think twice before breaking into collective laughter if I faltered on the stage. 

***

At that very moment it seemed as if time had come to a standstill. 

I could see the hand holding the mic moving in slow motion towards me and the sound of the professor’s words ringing gently yet loudly in my ears. 

A brain fog seemed to have started to set in, about to pose the impending question: “Now what?” 

***

“Don’t think, just do” 

Remember this line from Top Gun (and Top Gun Maverick)? 

If you’re a pilot in the middle of a dogfight, doubting your instinct can prove catastrophic. The decisions need to be made in a split-second and there’s no room for “thinking.”

"The best techniques are the ones that happen naturally." – Bruce Lee.

In martial arts, there’s a concept called Mushin. 

Mushin refers to a state of mind where the fighter acts without premeditation or hesitation. The mind is devoid of thoughts and it lets the natural reflexes of the fighter take over. 

This no-thought zone is often commonly referred to as the state of flow where you’re just doing it without letting your mind distract you. You do not care about the result in those moments. You do not care about anything because caring requires thought. And when you’re in the state of flow, letting thoughts come in your way can hamper the quest for excellence. 

Great artists and sportspersons often express their unawareness of the process when asked how they just accomplished an extraordinary feat. 

When Michael Jordan was asked how he played so well despite having the flu in the 1997 NBA finals, he said he was in the zone and everything felt automatic. India’s ace batsman Virat Kohli once said, “You don't think much. You just watch the ball and react.”

Serena Williams has said that sometimes when she’s fully immersed in the game, time seems to slow down.

Great musicians have mentioned being in a trance-like state when they’re in the flow. Zakir Hussain once said that his fingers on the tabla can move faster than his mind, beyond his control, when he’s deeply engrossed in a performance.

Beyoncé has described moments during performances when she forgets the choreography and lets the music guide her movements and expressions.

Both Lee Child and Stephen King have mentioned not forcing the story out of themselves and instead letting it unfold as they are putting words on the paper. 

Imagine a story being written without conscious thought. Sounds crazy but that’s what several great writers have claimed to have done. 

Such telling accounts of people describing how they surrendered themselves to a state of no thought and letting their body dictate their actions tells us that there’s something inside us that transcends our minds and we should probably trust it when the time comes. 

When you jump into action, the action itself can produce the thinking you thought you needed prior to initiating it. 

With every small act a new thought to improve the act might come up. And then you improve it in real time. It creates a positive feedback loop of action and thinking driving you forward in your task. 

***

I stood there, in front of that professor, with the mic in my hand. I was frozen and thoughts had just started knocking on the door of my mind, eager to creep in and take over. 

At that very instant, something dawned upon me. I can’t express or describe what that something was. But it dragged me to the stage and directed me from the inside to start speaking. 

I spoke unfettered for almost an hour. I do not remember to this day what my speech was about. 

But what I do remember is an engrossed audience staying till the last minute and then later coming up to me with follow up questions. 

Like Maverick said, I didn’t think. I just did.