“There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. All you have to do is get in touch with it, let things happen and be the ball….Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You’re not being the ball Danny,” Chevy Chase as Ty Webb in the movie, Caddyshack
Ty Webb’s (Chevy Chase) quote from the classic movie, Caddyshack, encourages Danny Noonan to mentally transform his approach to golf by becoming the ball.
All great humor holds elements of truth in its punch lines. “Be the ball” holds more than its share.
People struggle with speaking confidence. Nerves, shyness, frustration, or lack of skills cause failure just like Danny missing short putts.
But you can change. True confidence comes with mindfulness, practice, and visualization so that an almost mystical transformation takes place from doing to being.
Great athletes talk about “being in the zone” where athletic perfection goes through the body unimpeded by thought. The game flows through them like a mystical river.
This type of confidence goes beyond the self-assurance in abilities. The person transform from doing to being. He or she not only can do it but is it.
The brilliant Chinese scholar, Lao Tzu, wrote a famous 6th century BC book, The Book of the Way and of Virtue. The masterpiece has influenced Taoism, Buddhism, and other philosophical beliefs throughout the world for centuries.
Tao believed in “being not doing.” A person is confident, he doesn’t do confident. Stop trying to do things. Be confident in who you are, let go and things happen.
Nike, the multinational company, branded itself with the unforgettable phrase, “Just do it.” Have they misled the world? Using Tao’s idea, the famous Nike slogan should be “Just be it” not “Just do it.”
Mindfulness and practice create confidence not wishing and hoping. Mindful people who play guitar, sing or shoot a basketball see themselves as a guitarist, singer or player. They don’t do it, they are it. They become the music or the ball.
An audience watching a wonderful dancer cannot separate the dance from the dancer or the painter from a painting, they are one.
Speaking English is the same. Effort, visualizing who you are, letting things happen, and simply transforming from a person who speaks to a speaker.
The author, Deepak Chopra, calls this magical thinking. He says the mystical quality comes to the effortless being who visualizes transformation, releases preconceived notions, and allows the universe to guide them.
Ty Webb’s advice follows this plan. Stop trying to hit the ball….instead be the ball and see yourself as the winning shot. And Nike, help the world by changing your slogan.
John McGory is the author of the book Seeking Balance: The ultimate guide to English-speaking excellence for the shy, foreign, or frustrated