Jerry Lynch - The Way of the Champion: Lessons from Sun Tzus The art of War and other Tao Wisdom for Sports & life

AN EPILOGUE

Trusting the Process

Lifes unfolding of events is as apparent as the coming and going of seasons; all is exactly as it is supposed to be?trust it.

Deng Ming-Dao, Tao Wisdom

T AO WISDOM REMINDS US to trust the rivers flow. The mighty Mississippi River moves slowly at times, only to rapidly speed up in the narrows. You may even think it is reversing direction in various places, yet suddenly it turns around, heading toward its destination, the Gulf of Mexico, for a total journey of , miles. The Way of the Champion, like the river, has many reversals, setbacks, failures, and losses. You will plateau, slow down, stand still, and then speed up and experience rapid growth. There will be times when you think your progress is reversing direction, only to have it swiftly spin around and charge forward once again. All of this movement is a natural progression in your evolving process of being a champion or, as the Tao states, an unfolding of events exactly as they are supposed to be. Only the champions acknowledge, trust, and accept this natural process to be so.

When you grow flowers, you would never think about pulling them up as soon as they miraculously break through the soil, so they can grow faster and taller; you trust their growth to progress naturally. It is no different with progress on the champions path; you must trust the process and notice the natural unfolding of events.

Refuse to give setbacks, mistakes, plateaus, or sudden reversals in sport or life permission to distract you from your mission or to make you believe youre not making progress. Know that rapid growth and advancement in any arena of performance are unusual. Change and improvement occur when the time is right, not when you think they should. When fear and self-doubt enter your nervous system, understanding this natural process will help you to have self-compassion and be kind to yourself. Remember, on your journey of being a champion, that your efforts and intuition are purposeful and filled with integrity. Try to sense the joy, beauty, and benefits of the quest, the experience itself, as a worthwhile undertaking. National champions have taught me how the journey is actually more fun and rewarding than achieving the goal.

With this new frame of heart and mind, coupled with your patient, persevering nature, like the river with all its twists, turns, and changes of direction, you will eventually find your way to the sea of personal greatness as you act like the champion you are in the present moment.

Olympian Wilma Rudolph had polio as a child; doctors told her that she had little chance of ever walking again without leg braces. In and out of hospitals for many of her early years, while enduring major setbacks, fears, and doubts, she refused to follow the opinions of experts, choosing instead to trust her own instincts. She defeated this disease and went on to win three Olympic gold medals. Like Wilma, you are capable of extraordinary things when you trust and believe in this process of being a champion.

And, please trust the value of joyful laughter on your journey. Many good athletes and accomplished businesspeople take themselves too seriously; they seem to lack fun because they are so anxious or stressed about the possibility of failing or making mistakes. Good humor helps to promote well-being and optimal performance. Trust me, not to laugh at ones failures is costly, a setup for more failure. It makes for a tight, tense, and tentative performance. Dont confuse laughter and humor with a lack of seriousness. Be serious in your pursuit and preparation, but laugh at the absurdity when setback, loss, or failure take you off guard. Laughter will adjust your lens of perception with regard to all outcomes and results.

I want to remind you that progress on this journey may slow down like the river. No need to panic or be fearful. Remain trustful of the Way of the Champion. As I said earlier, events and circumstances in life often cause much tension and stress when they unfold contrary to how we think they should. A champion knows that things happen as they are supposed to, according to the way of nature, the Way of the Champion, the Watercourse Way.

The following bullets are going to help you to trust and become comfortable with the process, the journey itself. These morsels are taken from various sections throughout this book and offered to you at this time as reminders of how to stay the course. Everyone gets off track; the only difference between most people and the champion is that the latter, armed with heightened awareness and consciousness, gets back on track more quickly. Use the following as affirmations, champion finger food, when you become distracted along the way:

Nothing gargantuan is ever needed... just be who you are.

Dont try to dominate a situation; simply demonstrate your greatness.

Its really about uscan we raise our bar by using the opponent?

Exhibit a presence; stay connected to the right stuff, and fill up the arena with your spirit.

In the joy of going all-out, I forget my pain.

Opponents will look in my eyes; what they see may determine the outcome of the game or meeting.

Talent counts, yet the champion knows that its usually about who has the most heart.

Dont try to fight your opponent; fight to uphold the principles and virtues of the Way of the Champion.

Dont run away from losing; run toward winning, doing all the little things that create big things.

Know the difference between what you can and cant control; take charge of what you can, and let go of the rest.

Dont need to be the best; just be the best you can be right now.

Forget outcomes and focus on this positive opportunity given to you.

An archer shooting for the love of shooting has all the skill; when shooting for gold, the archer goes blind.

What message do you want to send to your opponent? What do you need to specifically do to make sure its received?

In sports, as in life, one thing is certain: SHIFT HAPPENS! Change is inevitable, like it or not. While some shifts or changes are tangible, such as skill development or body mass, other shifts tend to be intangible, impacting the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of performance. Such inner shifts of the heart-mind ( hsing in Chinese) remind me of the Zen Buddhist monk who approaches a street hotdog vendor and gently asks, Sir, please make me one with everything. The vendor looks at him strangely and proceeds to load the hot dog with several condiments. Receiving his purchase, the monk hands over a twenty-dollar bill for the two-dollar item. The vendor says Thank you and waits on another person. After waiting patiently for a few minutes, the monk finally says to the vendor, Sir, what about change? The man replies, Oh, yes, my friend... change. As you probably know, change comes from within.