Why does accomplishment(s) always come with some type of Tension or Stress?

There are many people who have so much tension in their lives, not realizing that it could be a signal for a necessary change or accomplishment – they either let go too soon or walk away – not allowing the big breakthrough to surface.

 

There is nothing more relaxing to me than to sit down with some freshly brewed coffee or tea and find myself reading a good fiction novel. This novel that I decided to read from my personal library was the Old Man and The Sea by world renowned author Ernest Hemingway. What placed me in the mood for this masterpiece of a story based on wit and strategy, was my recent observation of two men fishing on a lake near my home. I noticed them during my afternoon of walking with nature. As I stopped near the peer just above them, I asked what kind of fish were they planning to catch and they quickly with a smile upon their faces replied, “Bass”. This intrigued me because this was my first time seeing anyone fish in that lake and I wondered if they would catch something as they had so confidently planned.

Speaking of planning, what was so interesting was that I did not plan on learning something of value about the technique of fishing while watching them but I did. Before the fish can be caught, the fish hook attached to the line on the pole must be cast out a certain amount of feet to have any chances of catching something. The fish will simply not come close enough to the shallow end of the water where nature understands that their chances of being caught are much higher. Once the hook has been cast out, there must be some “tension” placed on the line, so that the fisherman can feel the fish pulling on the hook. This hook will always have something to lure the fish towards it. Here is the key that I learned from watching them. There must be “tension” felt if you are to catch something you truly want and you must have something to offer the fish or thing worth catching. So in this case tension is necessary. The two men did indeed catch a bass, not very big but it was indeed a good looking fish.

Upon reading Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and The Sea as I had mentioned earlier, after being inspired by the fishermen’s successful catch at the lake, there was a part in the book I would like to share with you that gave me an aha moment. In the book Ernest Hemingway said that the old man, “Could see the fish and he had only look at his hands and feel his back against the stern to know that this had truly happened and was not a dream.” This made me think. There is something to be said about fishing and living to catch the things in life we want. Neither one is easy and requires technique, execution and patience with consistent changes. More importantly “the tension” we feel should remind us to not let go but to take a closer look to see what  “is actually happening” such as the old man did as well as the fishermen I had encountered. The tension in our lives often at times will come from the fear of failure, setbacks or delays. This will happen as we toss ourselves into the deep oceans of opportunities that are not always friendly but require work and certain levels of discomfort to catch them.

The fisherman expects to have tension along his fishing pole and is ready to fight, address the challenge and pull the very thing he has come to the mysterious waters to catch. The Old Man in that novel and the fishermen that I spoke with understood this. Do you? If you want to catch better things and opportunities in life you must first be willing to go further into the deeper waters and expect there to be tension from time to time. Remember that the bigger fish or opportunity are usually harder to catch. Embrace it! We must be willing to bend with the rigidity of the tensions of change, uncertainty, people’s opinions and our doubts to reel in that champion fish called Accomplishment. Don’t stop fishing out here in the markets of the world until you catch what you really want. Know what you want, prepare for it and go put in the work!  Your better life is worth catching! Champion Up and be a courageous creator!

To learn more of how to fish for bigger and better opportunities go to http://championuppodcast.com and listen to episode 42: Deeper End Of Living: Making A Big Splash In Life. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and give it a review.

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