How can we play at a super level in a competition or work, or even play a level that is different from ordinary people? Is there such a way? It's possible, but how? Today I tell you a very wonderful story.
This is a famous story of the Liezi Yellow Emperor. It is said that the ancient Fan family had a son named Zihua, there were many disciples under the door, the ancient doormen were wise men, very powerful in the country, Zihua was also deeply favored by the king of the Jin state, and his status in the Jin state even exceeded that of the three secretaries, and the disciples under the Zihua gate were not rich or noble, and they all appeared to be very noble and arrogant.
One day, two of the doormen were spending the night in a farmhouse, and a farmer named Shangqiu Kai listened to the two doormen say that under the Zihua Gate, the poor could be made rich and the dead could be brought back to life. So Shang QiuKai borrowed grain and carried his luggage to Zihua's mansion to join Zihua. At first, Zihua's doormen saw that Shangqiu Kai was old, physically weak, his face was dark, and his clothes were not neat, and they looked down on him very much, often teasing, insulting and scolding him, but Shangqiu Kai was not angry at all, and let these people tease him.
One day, these people pulled Shangqiu kai to a high platform and casually said that whoever was willing to jump from this high platform would give him a reward of hundreds of gold, and the people next to him pretended to agree, and Shangqiu Kaixin believed that it was true, and jumped from the high platform without hesitation. But Shangqiu Kai, like a bird, floated lightly and fell to the ground, unscathed. But everyone thought he was lucky. The second time, these people pulled shangqiu to a deep water and said that there were jewels under the water, and they could find them by diving down. As a result, Shang Qiukai did not hesitate to jump down again, and indeed brought back the jewelry from the water. At this time, everyone began to be surprised, so Zihua ordered Shangqiu to be listed as a doorman.
Soon after, the warehouse in Fan Mansion was on fire, Zihua said that whoever could rescue the brocade from the fire could get the corresponding reward, everyone did not dare to take risks, and Shangqiu Kai did not hesitate to jump into the fire, and also went back and forth several times, moving the brocade out, the face was not stained with smoke, and the body was not burned. So everyone was very surprised, they all thought that Shangqiu Kai had practiced Taoism, began to apologize to Shangqiu Kai, humiliated him before, and asked Shangqiu Kai to teach Taoism.
But Shang Qiu Kai said, I don't know what Taoism, I don't know the reason for these things in my heart, he said, I just heard the two doormen of the palace staying in my house before, they said that here in Zihua, you can let the living die, let the dead come back, let the rich become poor, let the poor become rich, I did believe it, so I came here thousands of miles away. After arriving here, I thought that what you said was true, lest I not believe enough and act in a timely manner, so I was single-minded, did not take care of my own body, and did not consider the stakes. In this way, maybe external objects can't hurt me, and that's it.
Liezi also told several similar stories in this article, some of which also appeared in "Zhuangzi", such as Lü Liang swimmer, drunk driving, stupid wooden chicken and so on. One of the stories is this: One day, Confucius's disciple Yan Hui asked his teacher for advice, saying that when he was passing through a deep pool by boat, he saw the boatman's skills magical, and Yan Hui asked the boatman, can he learn to row? The boatman replied that if you can swim, you can learn, and if you can dive, you can quickly master the art of building a boat even if you have never seen a boat.
Yan Hui did not know why, and came back to ask Confucius, Confucius said: People who can swim can learn to steer boats because such people are not afraid of water; people with superb swimming skills can learn quickly because they are familiar with water; and people who can snorkel can immediately master the skills of boat driving even if they have never seen a boat, because they regard the deep pool as a mountain, even if the boat overturns, they are not afraid and calm, so of course they can quickly learn to row.
Confucius said that if you bet with tiles, you are often skilled in gambling; if you bet with a silver hook, you will start to be afraid in your heart; and if you bet with gold, you will be dizzy and confused. The skills of gambling are all the same, and the reason why gamblers are worried is because they pay too much attention to external things. This is what Zhuangzi said about "those who are heavy on the outside are clumsy inside", too much emphasis on external objects, your mind will be disturbed, and your behavior will be clumsy.
What is the truth in these stories? Liezi and Zhuangzi show us that those who look very powerful, those who are different from ordinary people, they just completely integrate themselves into nature and are completely undistracted. In this way, their nature is complete and their minds are united, and at this time, it is difficult for all things to infringe on them, and when they face life and death, they have no fear, and their hearts will not be disturbed. Therefore, they can do things that ordinary people cannot do, and exert their potential to the extreme.
Just like Shang QiuKai, at the beginning of the doorman's words believed true, no scruples, but to do things, can be undistracted, of course, this is just a story, but in our lives, in fact, it is the same, just like the top athletes in the decisive moment, can maintain the unity of body and mind, the state of no distraction, in order to play the ultimate level. But it is usually difficult for us to reach such a state, not that we do not have such an ability, but we are easily disturbed by external objects and cannot maintain our natural nature, just like Zhuangzi said: Those who are heavy on the outside are clumsy on the inside. We pay too much attention to the outside, too much to the results, too much to the goal, but let you lose your heart, can not do the ultimate.