“When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell, eminent scientist and inventor
You must embrace the true abundance of the world to get to your best performance. No matter what happens, your ship has not sailed: New ships are constantly coming into port for you. Opportunities are constantly springing up around you. If you live with a narrow perspective of worry and fear, then you won’t see them as they arrive.
You may have placed so much importance on one performance that you can’t imagine failing. But you’ve got to keep your perspective. Don’t put yourself under so much pressure. If you’re worried about not being at your best, relax anyway. Mental pressure causes stress, and stress and flow don’t mix, just like oil and water.
Even if you are performing in a high-stakes competition, and losing means you’re out of the competition, know that there are always opportunities in your future that you can’t even see right now. There are thousands of ways your life can work out. From your limited point of view, you can’t always see the perfection of the way things can line up for you.
Think back to when you were younger. How did all the things you were worried about work out? From your perspective now, some of them worked out, some didn’t. And many didn’t turn out like the worst-case scenario in your mind. In any case, those times passed, just as this one will.
Realize that you’re standing on this piece of ground on this planet that is spinning in space. Earth is only one of many planets in many galaxies. From this perspective of time and space, this moment is not that big a deal. The sun will come up tomorrow. The waves will lap the shores of this beautiful Earth, and the tides will come and go.
See this moment as a starting place on your journey. Feel the excitement of that fresh start. Wherever you are right now, however much success or failure you have experienced, you are at the start of your journey. That’s because you never stop moving toward something bigger, better, different.
Albert Einstein said that you could live as if nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle. Choose the miracle. The miracle is that you are here and you are alive right now. Don’t take that for granted. You get the chance to pour yourself into this moment for your best and highest performance.
Keep your mind fixed on the abundance of this life.