To be active and skillful is to be challenged

Let me begin with a Japanese story...

Japanese love fresh fish but the water close to Japan has not held many fish for decades. In order to feed Japanese population fishing boats got bigger and fishermen decided to go farther. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fishes. Further, the return trip took more than a few days. As a consequence, the fishes lost their freshness and Japanese didn't like the taste. 

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them. Freezers allowed the boats go farther and stay longer. Nevertheless, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish and didn't like frozen fish. Therefore, fishing companies installed fish tanks on their boats. They would catch the fish and stuff them in tanks. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference because the fish didn't move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish , not sluggish fish. 

To keep the fish-taste fresh, the Japanese fishing companies decided to add a small shark to each tank. Though, the shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged. 

Let's come back to reality, In our lives sharks are new challenges that keep us active and energetic. In other words, To be active and energetic is to be challenged.

In addition, "We don't grow when things are easy; we grow when we face challenges"

Challenges propel us forward and help us escape mediocrity. To be skillful in any field one should keep challenging oneself because

"A smooth sea has never made a skillful mariner"

Finally, put a shark in your tank in 2020 and see how far you can really go at the end of 2020.

Perspectives are invited and appreciated!