Zanshin: The Art of Relaxed Awareness

6 min readDec 19, 2020

“Both in fighting and everyday life should be determined though calm. Even when your spirit is calm, do not let your body relax, and when your body is relaxed, do not let your spirit slacken… Zanshin.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Japanese Martial Arts uses Zanshin to describe a person who calmly exudes the aura of always being aware of his mind, body, and surroundings. It means paying attention to our thoughts, our environment, and our actions. Such constant vigilance facilitates proactive movement rather than reaction.

If you can nurture your Zanshin to the degree that it becomes effortless, you will reap improvements in different areas of your life.

Two Western quotes embody this:

“When every physical and mental resource is focused, one power to solve a problem multiplies tremendously.”

- Norman Vincent Peale

“Concentration is the source of strength.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let’s dive deeper.

Self-Improvement Is Obfuscated By Lack Of Concentration.

Contrary to popular belief, the outcome may be less valuable than the process. If you are only focusing on your target, you may miss the fundamental details of aiming.

In essence, this means focusing on the process to achieve an outcome. Zanshin techniques can help you reframe your mindset to increase your concentration and increase your focus on finer details- Understanding what and where you focus your attention are crucial components for self-improvement.

Everyone would like to improve, but that does not mean they have the skills. Many influencers, brands, and companies use self-improvement to spur motivation and elicit an emotional response in today’s environment. They glorify this buzzword to entice the masses into buying the hottest online self-help course or the latest book.

But purchasing a self-improvement product does not necessarily translate to self-improvement. For example, you can see a therapist, but that does not mean somebody will magically cure you.

So, what prevents people from improving?

There are many reasons, but if I had to narrow my choices down to one, I would say lack of concentration. It’s easy to get distracted by family, friends, phones, or even distant memories while completing a task. A lack of concentration can be detrimental to our progress.

The underlying theme of Zanshin is to be “present.” Being present with yourself will allow you to cultivate higher levels of concentration. And increased levels of concentration will benefit your chances of success.

Focus is Obfuscated By Playing The Victim

It is human nature to play the “victim.” Our brains are reluctant to admit defeat. We are prone to explaining our shortcomings by blaming other people or circumstances — emotions fuel this reaction and cloud our observation of what is in front of us.

And yes, temporarily portraying a victim is not the worst thing, but if repeated too frequently, you resurrect that victim and eventually retreat backward to become him/her. The past returns to haunt you and erodes your present. You begin believing life ‘happens,” and everything is predetermined. You give away your power and become a fatalist….

(Don’t become a fatalist.)

Donning a daily Zanshin practice will cut the curtains of your soap opera and stop your small violin’s dramatic music because you will learn how to focus on the task at hand.

Emphasize the now, not the future or the past.

Single-Mindedness Is Obfuscated By Multitasking

Many of you can see that multitasking is detrimental to your performance because it is inefficient.

Why?

Humans have a limited supply of energy and attention. If you focus on one or two things, you are more likely to have a “deeper” understanding of those tasks on hand. On the contrary, if your attention is diffused over concurrent tasks, your understanding of each task will remain superficial.

Your attention will be spread too thin.

Moreover, continually getting distracted or brushing the surface level of a topic has a point of diminishing returns- eventually, it becomes a personal liability. I remember my grandmother telling me, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”

For example, during my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, my performance suffers if my mind drifts to contemplate optional or multiple techniques. My wake-up call is my opponent’s punch, kick, and or slam to the ground.

Yes, it is a harsh but a quickly learned lesson. Remember, if you wait too long, problems get more prominent.

And maybe, this might not be the case for other situations. Maybe, you won’t see or feel the immediate effects of multitasking, but you will definitely suffer over the long-term.

Many of us cannot (will not) weigh the risk to reward ratio of immediate gratification vs. long-term benefits, so we don’t prioritize. This is why Zanshin practitioners prioritize tasks that are important right now and deprioritize what can wait until later.

Learning how to see the long-term results of your actions while simultaneously living in the present is a power that can be trained and honed over time.

Taking The Initiative Is Obfuscated By Complacency

Complacency is an insidious parasite that plagues us. It sneaks up and silently burrows inwards. If you are lucky, you have a friend or mentor who notices it early. But if you are unlucky, maybe a few weeks or months pass by until you begin noticing your mind is swimming in a doldrum. Your life has not improved.

When we focus solely on our strengths, our hubris outshines our focus. Our ego says, “Hey, you are out of danger, go hangout…” and that’s when the real “danger” begins.

If you understand your complacency, you must attack it with your newfound Zanshin powers. This philosophy will force you to take the initiative and maintain your consistency through your daily activities, situations, or experiences.

Final Thoughts

As a Jiu-jiteiro and a “survivor of violence,” I have always strived towards Zanshin.

Relaxed Awareness.

By understanding danger can be lurking around the corner, I always payed attention to my thoughts, actions, and environment by maneuvering towards the safest position. But I guess I never really understand the full meaning behind the concept.

Sometimes, I am unsuccessful in applying Zanshin to other areas in my life- sometimes, I become complacent, less present, or unfocused.

Many areas need improvement, but I am progressing- This reality check is an excellent self-assessment to approach fulfilling my capabilities.

Ultimately, maximize your inner potential by applying Zanshin to every aspect of your life, but first start small: choose your personal, professional, emotional, mental, or spiritual life…. And get to work.

I’ve started implementing, will you?

Even when your spirit is calm, do not let your body relax, and when your body is relaxed, do not let your spirit slacken.