The Art of Mental Training - a Guide to Performance Excellence (Classic Edition) by D. C. Gonzalez Page A

understatement.” I
replied.
    “There came a point when it was
clear to you that where you were no longer inspired you—and you realized that
if you stood still, then that’s where you would stay.  What’s wrong with
choosing to not stand still?  Congratulations.  Some people live their whole
lives in chains without realizing that they always held the key.”
    He looked at me and gently
shook his head.
    “Danielsan, who knows what
awaits you, but never mind the uncertainty that occupies your thinking right
now.  Understand this.  Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to go.  You
dream your dreams, you work your goals, and still, life may not go as you have
planned.  But think about it, where would we be if we had not chosen a path, if
we had put forth no effort into achieving a plan?  In those cases I would say
that one had no direction at all, and there is nothing good about that.”
    “Well, that’s exactly how I
feel right now.”  I told my old friend.  “No direction at all.”
    “Maybe you feel that way,
Danielsan, but I don’t see it that way.  If someone sets themselves free—from
whatever;  if someone picks themselves up after life hits them with a sucker
punch, that is some direction, at least—wouldn’t you agree?  Picking yourself
up or setting yourself free is direction.  It is part of achieving something.”
    I listened as the sun drooped
down beyond the horizon ahead of us.
    “Please Leo-tai, can you just
help me see your point?”
    “I can.  My point is that even
though we may not understand it, sometimes life will put us on a new path, one
that we would have never asked for, that we have never dreamed of, or ever
imagined, . . . And after all, isn’t that what’s really happening to you?”
    “Instead of over-analyzing and
doubting the direction your life has taken, why not simply accept the fact that
there is a new path that has been set before you right now?  Stop the internal
self-doubt.  It only causes confusion.  The fact is that whatever was—is no
more.  It’s gone.  It’s in the past.  And whatever is—well, isn’t that what really
matters?”
    I was listening—as I watched
the waves and the seagulls.
    “The past is gone my friend. 
You can look back on it but it’s only a reflection.  The future lies ahead . .
. but it's a future that has not yet been realized.  So in reality, today is all
we have.  And today is here.  Why don't you just start walking on your new
path, one step at a time?  Conjure up some new dreams, cast them out to the
universe, keep your head up, have faith, and discover what lies ahead.  Life
itself has put you on this path.  Just trust what is and be with it.”
    Leo-tai continued.
    “I believe that anyone who does
this, Danielsan, soon finds the new path taking them  in a most natural and
comfortable direction.  Embrace the new adventure; walk into it with strong
self-belief and before long—I suspect—you will find the new direction
rewarding, and amazing beyond anything that you could have ever imagined . . .
Follow the path set before you; follow your destiny.  The universe does not
make mistakes; everyone is exactly where they need to be.  You must remember
this whenever it seems that the pattern of your life has lost its firmness of
purpose.  Always remember . . . you are exactly where you need to be, and
then—” Leo-tai paused.
    “And then what?” I asked him.
    “And then my friend . . . you
must walk on. You must simply—walk on.”
    I let his words sink in.  As
the sun hazed into the sea, I remembered so many other sunset lessons over the
years.  Perhaps Leo-tai was remembering too, for he suddenly said, “From
amongst all our lessons what one most important thing do you think I would
always want you to remember, if there were one, what do you think it might be?”
    So many things.  I thought.  I
recalled the fight with the raccoons; the many mistakes I’d made; all the times
he’d picked