Why is it that Olympic athletes, a few seconds before the final performance that will win them a medal, have their eyes closed? And why is it the same with a surgeon a few seconds before attempting an emergency operation under dire conditions….The same with an artist a few minutes before re-opening his/her eyes to create a work of art that generations after will deem ‘classic’… What is it exactly about closing the eyes that helps inspired creators and high-performers reach their next level? Some say it is all about isolating their minds from external stimuli so that their concentration and emotional balance can reach their optimal level. In a way, it is correct. But it does not explain the mechanism behind it…
Could it be that during moments when a highly skilled professional attempts to do the (until then) impossible, determined and inspired by a great cause, he/she understands instinctively that both hemispheres of the brain must work together? On such occasions, the Right and the Left, the logical and the creative, the center managing order and the center managing chaos, have to become one. In such moments, as any great concert violinist, formula 1 driver, or ice-skating champion will tell you, the internal limits restricting our capabilities disappear, psychological summits are reached and externally agreed limits are shattered. We call it, ‘Record Braking’ Performance!
The reason why such people close their eyes seconds before such BIG moments, is because this is actually the best way to see with great clarity what is in front of them, often in explicit detail! After hours per day and months per year of constant practicing and training, they have distilled the essence of what it takes to touch that crazy goal! Perhaps other higher senses we all posses and remain in lethargy the rest of the time, get activated on such occasions. Or it could be that by closing your eyes, you see clearly your personal truth with such conviction that external reality has to conform to your vision due to some mysterious law.
In any case, it is safe to say that sports champions, special forces groups, highly skilled craftsmen, incredibly specialized scientists, and genius creators, do not shut their eyes just to avoid something… Rather, they turn off a redundant function so that a higher sense of understanding can be activated. Just ask yourself: have you ever seen a Fireman entering a burning apartment building, saving the abandoned child and exiting intact, solely relying on his actual vision? In such moments, he cannot see shit! In such moments, we say that ‘the heart’ led him through the obstacles and dire conditions.
Could it be that a unification of brain centers was achieved? Not very romantic. Which increases the chances of being a correct estimation…