He was feeling a bit down on himself, looking back, and seeing what could have happened. But what could, in his case, can still, and learning from his mistakes was exactly what he needed to do. He needed to see what he could have done when Ganon made this move or that, in case he tried it again. He could see his past, because history was repeating itself, and he had the ultimate advantage of being there in the first place. He had the power to keep Ganon off, until one day he was finally gone. But even if that day was centuries off, he could make it shorter every time. He had to keep his hope, because he would lose. And he could only make that mistake once. Ganon could lose as many times as he wanted, then he could try again. Although, he could probably eventually defeat Ganon. But hundreds of lives would be lost, the lives he was supposed to be protecting. The lives he was responsible for, the people he had sworn to protect. That could not be allowed to happen. He had learned from his past, and he would defend his future. He couldn't let his failures get to him, he had to use them, to learn from them. He couldn't be hindered by the past; it had to flow into him. He was of the past and the future, but not the present… in the times of peace, he was but an onlooker, with an eye out for danger. He could not let himself fall into despair in these times, though. He could not tell then when Ganon would attack. He kept the past and future both in mind so that he was always ready for anything. He would not be caught off guard.
What's the use in going on?
I sometimes ask myself
But this is no average job
There's more at stake than wealth
The past and future have combined
In my mind and they tell
Me what to do but I will not
Sink into despair as they compel
I learn, I think,
I plot, I dream,
I watch and devise
My next scheme
To bring this giant down
I have tasks that I must repeat
I have a princess I must save
A villain that I must defeat
I wonder at the point of it all
But I learn from it just the same
I have driven my foe off
Every time that he came
But now that I have seen so much
I wonder if I've seen anything
While only looking to the past
I can't tell what the future will bring
So I think about it too,
I prepare for what I know
And my mind 's ready for anything
I'm always ready to go
Whatever my foe might throw at me
I will always be ready
Whatever blow he might deal to me
I will remain steady.