Success vs. Joy
- LX -
The Mind-body Alignment
The meaning of words often depends on the context in which they are deployed. You could ask someone the definition of a word such as ‘alignment’. The dictionary meaning of alignment would be ‘in a straight line’. However, for a golfer it could mean the path that is facing a target.
For me, alignment means an individual’s mind, body, and soul working in perfect harmony. This alignment is the basis of performance and, most importantly, finding the true joy that we all aspire for, the joy that keeps eluding us most of the time.
One of the most important things billiards has taught me is that it takes an immense amount of self-control and discipline to keep your mind aligned to your body. It is the same in life. We have to keep working toward this goal all our lives, in order to perfect the harmony in our actions. When the body works in harmony with the mind, it provides a winning combination – not only in a game but also in the pursuit of joy for the moment.
Sounds simple? It is not. It has taken me 30 years of non-stop action, 10 hours a day of hard and passionate work, to understand the importance of being able to align my mind, body, and soul in rhythm.
Most of us would like to believe that we are intelligent and that we appreciate and understand this. Intuitively, most of us know what is good for us in the long run. But we do not listen to our inner voice because the cacophony around us drowns it.
Controlling others is not what I want to do or enjoy doing. I much prefer concentrating on that which brings me happiness and joy by keeping my mind, body, and soul in perfect balance and harmony. This is what I strive to achieve.