33 years ago, Top Gun made us fans of dogfights, the ‘healthy’ rivalry between Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, and one of the most famous ballads of all time.
But the most important thing we can learn from this movie is how the missile system works.
It’s the classic electronic sight ‘looking for’ the enemy plane on the screen… and when it ‘locks on’ it, you fire and [ Hasta la vista, baby ].
In theory, once the missile “smells” the heat trace of the other ship, it is responsible for targeting the target itself.
Can you imagine that it was the pilot who, in addition to flying his plane, had a separate control to guide the missile?
It would be a disaster.
…and that’s what happens to us, day after day.
We push ourselves to control what, in fact, we can’t control.
Maybe it’s because more than a guided missile, you shoot an arrow; and it’s like the Zen philosophy about archery, in which your essence as an archer is to become ‘one’ with everything.
Spirit, archer, arrow, wind and target become one thing.
But once the arrow is in the air…
Here it is important that you finish the sentence. Which one of these would you choose?
– “…I can’t do anything else”.
– “… it’s no longer necessary to do anything else”.
A big difference.
The world, its circumstances, are volatile; Sometimes they go in your favor, and sometimes against.
Like the wind around you; You cannot change its direction, or complain about it; It would be useless.
So you save your energy by accepting and being grateful for it.
You appreciate it, because who doesn’t like to feel a cool breeze?
Another factor is the target itself. Without something to aim for, the whole process is meaningless.
The process becomes as intimate as your breathing; Because even your heartbeat can divert the arrow several millimeters.
Where does the whole process occur?
In your consciousness, so you must quiet down everything else.
Fears, doubts, anger … you can’t get rid of them, but *you can choose to focus your attention away from them*.
Once you release the arrow, it’s like Maverick’s missile.
You forget it.
You detach.
You watch where it lands, and take it into account; It’s just another try.
You take another arrow, and repeat the process.
Sometimes we can feel desperately powerless for several reasons:
– We don’t have a single target, but several; one at thirty feet, another at three hundred, one large, one small and we can’t decide which one to aim at each time.
– We regret that the wind doesn’t stand still. That the circumstances are not fair enough.
– Or, we are pushed down by all the times we have failed.
I think you know where I want to go.
I want to get to the point where you are aware that if you do not have *a single objective*, you will disperse your efforts.
I want to get to the point where you accept and be grateful for the wind that surrounds you; constantly changing direction; that sometimes refreshes you and sometimes throws dust in your eyes.
… and finally, remember that every day is an arrow that, as they say in tennis, is played ‘one point at a time’.
The score doesn’t matter.
In fact, the scoreboaard *doesn’t exist*.
There is only *this point*.
This arrow.
This day.
I know it’s hard, really hard, to shoot the arrow and forget about everything else.
In his book “Atmamun”, Kapil Gupta has a really painful chapter about it, where he basically tells you that to be bitter about what the arrow does after you release it, is to live a miserable life.
A common example: if the target is someone you want to persuade of something.
You cannot have that person ‘outside’, just as the target cannot be ‘outside’ of the archer.
Remember: target, wind, bow, arrow, must first be within you. In the case of persuading, you must thoroughly understand that person.
I would like to be more concrete about this, but I have to speak slightly vague because I want you to imagine how u can you apply this to your life.
But just as Tom Cruise had full confidence in the missile system to take down MIGs, so you must have full confidence in your capabilities.
Shoot, and forget.
Reload, and try again.
I know that your emotions can make your pulse tremble; but that only happens if you try to ignore them or worse, deny them.
And since it’s no easy task, I want to help.
I’ll be there waiting with a special bow and arrow for you.
Start by downloading my free Body Language tips ebook here:
Much success,
Jesús Enrique Rosas
I can read your body language and write a story about it.
