WHAT A FISH TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE

CASTING SOME THOUGHTS YOUR WAY!

Have you ever been fishing? What about saltwater fly fishing? If you have, then you'll know the profound lessons it offers about life.

Even if you're a complete novice, there's much to learn from this experience. This week's SWAGGER Sense dives deep into the beautiful parallels between fishing and life.

The Power of a Name

It's called fishing, not catching, for a reason. This is especially true in fly fishing, which requires a delicate balance of patience, skill, and timing.

?Imagine locating the fish first, casting your line perfectly without spooking it, and then enticing it to follow your fly.

You must set the hook just right, keep pressure on the line, and gradually reel it in while allowing it to run.

Finally, if all goes well, you land the fish, capture the perfect shot, and gently release it back into the water, thanking it for the sport.

It sounds like a lot, and it is. That's why it's called fishing, and not catching.

All of those elements need to align perfectly to land the fish. The pieces might only line up a handful of times during an entire day of fishing.

So what's the point? Let's look at this experience in relation to life.

Patience

Before you can start putting any of your fishing expertise into action, you must first locate the fish.

In saltwater fly fishing, you could spend what seems like hours just searching for one or two fish feeding on the flats.

Patience is absolutely essential. It's not an activity for the impatient person.

That’s probably why some people choose different sports or hobbies.

This aspect of fishing is very much like life. Things rarely go according to our schedule.

Today, we've become addicted to immediate gratification and responses.

We seek out quick fixes and expect to wake up the next day magically transformed.

Whether you’re fishing or living your life, patience is key.

We have to recognize that creating positive and sustainable change, mastering skills, and achieving dreams take effort and time.

These things won't happen overnight.

Practice

You’ve often heard me say that I’m a continuous work in progress.

That is certainly true when it comes to fishing and life.

Fly fishing is such a humbling experience. It's a perfect showcase for the importance of practice.

You can only get better at casting and maneuvering a fish onto your reel and into the boat with practice.

Mastering any skill requires repetition and practice.

Not that I have or probably ever will master fly fishing. It’s about progress, not perfection.

On our recent trip to Andros in the Bahamas, our guide Elvis was so kind to me.

He suggested that my fishing skills had graduated far from the novice category.

I don't know about that, but I do know that doing difficult things requires practice and being willing to put the time in to improve.

But man, it is worth it!

My perfectionist tendencies and desire for mastery keep me coming back.

If you've ever hit the perfect golf swing, then you understand the magic of how effortless it felt.

It's the same with the perfect cast. The harder you try to make it happen, the worse your cast becomes.

It's all about technique and getting the rod to work for you, much like a golf swing.

In life, just like in fishing, we have to practice to master.

Whatever skill, behavior, or habit we're working on, we must be willing to practice to improve.

Perseverance

By now, you might see how easy it would be to give up when saltwater fly fishing. But where's the fun in that?

On this most recent trip, I caught an 8-pound bonefish. Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you.

However, what had to happen for me to land that fish was nothing short of amazing.

I've already illustrated above the difficulties in finding and hooking the fish.

Now, I have the fish on my line. He takes off running, well swimming, but we call it running.

The line is screaming as he runs. I’m worried that I’m going to run out of line.

I keep the line taut so he doesn't throw the hook. I reel the line in again and again.

Then he takes off running some more. This happens several times before I can even get him closer to the boat.

I'm unsure why, but I always refer to the fish as a he. Hmmm. I'll have to assess that at a later date.

Now the line is somehow caught on the sandy bottom. How, I have no idea, but I'm in real danger of losing this fish.

My expert guide coaches me through how to keep tension without putting any pressure on the line so it doesn't snap.

I drop my reel tip down, and after multiple attempts, the fish takes off running again.

Relief, my line is no longer caught. There's still more work to be done.

Finally, I land the fish and have my photo taken to cement this memory. It was a huge accomplishment.

All of the pieces had to be executed perfectly for it to happen. I could’ve lost that fish any number of times during this process.

I could’ve given up when things got tough. I had to keep my focus and continue to execute.

Just like in life, the only way to succeed is to keep going, to persevere.

Takeaways

Take what I learned from fishing to heart. Employ P to the Power of 3 - Patience, Practice, and Perseverance.

These qualities aren't just useful in fishing; they're essential in life.

Whether you're striving for personal growth, professional success, or simply a more fulfilling existence, these principles will guide you through the challenges and triumphs that come your way.

May you learn and grow from every experience!

Jennifer

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