Tao Te Ching - Thoughts on the "mental game" utilizing an excerpt from this 2,500 year old manuscript

In this blog installment I would like to share a passage from the "Tao Te Ching." The "Tao Te Ching," by Lao-Tzu is a 2,500 year old classic manual on the "art of living" and is one of the most widely translated books in world literature.  As is the purpose of any of my blog entries, it is my intention to use this space to enhance your ability to have more fun playing the game of golf. This particular translation is by Stephen Mitchell.

The passage reads:

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

Being and non-being create eachother.

Difficult and easy support eachother.

Long and short define eachother.

High and low depend on eachother.

Before and after follow eachother.

Therefore the Master

acts without doing anything

and teaches without saying anything.

Things arise and she lets them come;

things dissapear and she lets them go.

She has, but doesn’t possess,

acts, but doesn’t expect.

When her work is done, she forgets it.

That is why it lasts forever.

As it relates to golf, I derive these meanings:

1. Balance and perspective are they key to conquering any endeavor. Without a struggle, there cannot be any triumph, as they are dependent upon eachother. When you view your learning this way, you will begin to embrace the idea that there is "joy in the struggle." This simple shift in attitude will allow you to embrace the inherent joy the journey brings without the emotional highs and lows one typically experiences with success and failure.

2. Our ego often fuels our desire to eventually "be" something that will be better than we are today. Once we become that thing, we believe that we will then be "happier" than we are today. Lao-Tzu reminds us that the journey is the destination. Properly tending to your daily practice efforts with enthusiasm and discipline, while letting go of the eventual outcome or reward, will actually make each day on the golf course more fun, while eventually delivering results with less perceived effort! There is JOY in the STRUGGLE.

For more insights on practice, discipline and the mental game. Read Chapter 9, in the Golf by Design book, "The Blackbelt Mentality."

If you have any interest in The Tao Te Ching, click the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Stephen-Mitchell/dp/0060812451

Dr. Wayne Dyer has also translated this text in his new book "Change your thoughts, Change your life" which is quickly gaining popularity.

http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Thoughts-Living-Wisdom/