Two years ago I began riding a motorcycle on a daily basis. It's cheap, like 70 mi/gallon cheap (or 30 km/Liter for any Europeans reading this). It's also really dangerous. Every single moment something could go wrong. And the fear of something going wrong is more dangerous than any other driver or obstacle. On many occasions I've been pushed out of my own lane. I've had someone make a u-turn just in front of me nearly causing me to flip the bike. I've had deer run out in front of me giving me only fractions of a second to react. I've been in rain and freezing cold to where I can't feel any portion of my body. Your mind gets hazy after hours of hours of hearing nothing but the monotonous hum of the engine through earplugs and a helmet and seeing nothing but tail lights, headlights, mayonnaise and mustard(white and yellow lines). There's nothing I've done in life where it seemed so very important to stay rooted in every second. To constantly be mindful, or aware that any moment could be your last. Or at best, be the last moment you can eat without someone helping you.
There's no time for a wondering mind when you're moving 70 miles per hour only inches from the ground. It's not fear that keeps you so aware. It's the drive to succeed at arriving at your destination. The drive to avoid a breathing tube. Every time I put on that helmet I'm letting go of the past, making peace with all that's gone wrong recently or in the distant past. When "Cager", slang for someone driving a vehicle with doors and windows, doesn't see you passing them and pushes you over into an oncoming lane you don't have time to stop thinking of what you were thinking of before reacting and making it safely into your lane. You also don't have time to think about what had just happened before returning to your lane and completing your ride. You also can't allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear even momentarily, or allow that fear to enter your mind for a second. In the case that you end up on the ground, the fear of hitting the ground would tense muscles causing a worse injury than had you just accepted what was inevitable. On a motorcycle there is no regret or fear.
You're constantly assessing what's 12 cars or 45 seconds ahead of you, around you, 45 seconds behind you, and under you. You're watching the clouds and trees. Which side of the leaves are pointed up? The side that catches water or the side that catches sunlight? What's in this intersection ahead? Gravel or a pot hole? Maybe both. The level of focus that's required to get from point A to point B safely spills over into your daily life. It puts you in control of the direction you're headed, the obstacles in front of you, and ready for the things you can't see coming. But only if you're mentally strong enough to keep the details from consuming you.
I've worked with a lot of supremely talented individuals in my life. The one common thread I've seen in them is the ability to quickly go from daily life to performance. Some people take time to get in the "zone". Others take no time. But even fewer are always living in the moment. These people are typically the most successful. They live every moment like they could fall at any moment. While holding onto control as though their life depended on it, they're fully prepared to accept any unavoidable negative outcome the future holds. They don't allow the stress of moments ago affect the outcome of right now. They just press on through the turns without fear and try to keep their two wheels down.