Should I Quit Fishing?

Should I quit fishing?

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Sometimes… it sure feels like we should quit.

Let me tell you a story…

A few weeks ago I was able to get out and fish a few times. I went fishing with a buddy (looking for carp and catfish which is usually pretty consistent) and we caught 1 fish. Later, I went out by myself and caught a few dinks. After that I took two short afternoon trips and caught nothing.

Nothing.

Zero.

As a full-time website developer and consultant, I don’t get a ton of time to fish. In fact, I get very little – and it is very important to maintain the following mentality:

You have to do what you can, with what you got.

Well, when “what I got” is spent getting skunked… it makes it hard to keep going.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Do you relate? Do you ever feel like you should just quit?

DON’T QUIT. DO NOT QUIT.

Losers quit. You are not a loser.

You are NOT a loser.

Alright then – how do we deal with defeat? How do we deal with getting knocked down? Skunked? Defeated?

Adopt the mentality that you are doing reps, and remind yourself that these reps are important.

They matter.

Why?

When a person starts to work out, they lift light weights as much as they can. If you check back in on that person in a month – two months – three months – the weight they were lifting 90 days ago, and the amount of times they can lift that weight will have changed. They will now be able to lift significantly more weight then they could when they started.

This is assuming they stayed honest and consistent.

These are (literal) reps.

When a person starts to fix their nutrition, they start to log calories and pay attention to the foods that they lift to their mouth. They may start to plan their meals and adjust the groceries they put in their home. Then in time, their meals change. More veggies and fruits start to show up on the plate, lean meats and quality proteins, with fewer chips and Twinkies. Over time these meals become significantly more beneficial, as little improvements are made piece by piece.

These are reps.

When a person starts to build a business, they begin by defining a service or product. Once they have something to sell, they must look for customers. They need to look for people that would benefit from the value they are bringing to the table – and they need to contact them. One at a time. Rejection follows. Often. (Yes, I am speaking from experience.) But eventually that business owner will find their first customer, and if they make sure they are happy and repeat the process of contacting more people, they will find their next customer. In time, this compounds and their business may become significantly more profitable than when they started.

These are reps.

All of these things are worth doing, and all of them come with rejection, failure and hardship.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

If you want to become a better fisherman (and I know you do), then you need to accept the fact that you will get skunked. You will not catch fish some days, you will lose expensive baits, your plans will fall apart, you will be disappointed, and things won’t always go your way.

But this make the days when they DO go your way so much sweeter.

We talked about the value of hard work on a recent episode of Monday Morning Bites:

So keep going. You never know when it’s going to completely turn around. Adopt the mentality that you need to push forward no matter what.

Remind yourself that you are doing reps.

You are working on casting accuracy, bait selection, finding new spots, exploring, getting exercise and fresh air…

There is so much to be grateful for even when you are not catching fish.

On a personal note, when it comes to building this site and the associated YouTube channel, I have to remind myself of these same things. Progress leads to happiness, but happiness and progress don’t always come easy.

My videos don’t get much traffic, but I’m doing reps and working on getting better at editing them. My email marketing is lacking, but I’m doing reps and getting better at creating campaigns for my subscribers. My Google Ads are tough to pay for to promote this site, but I’m doing reps and getting better at managing them. My articles don’t always get picked up by the search engines, but I’m doing reps to try to become a better writer.

With all of these things, I would rather struggle towards something worthwhile than simply exist. If we don’t keep our line in the water – and if we do nothing – then we can expect nothing as the result.

Keep Going. Keep Fishing. Keep Improving. Reps Matter.

Tight lines.

Quick Message for Readers:

Thanks for visiting! I’m going to keep doing everything possible to keep the helpful content coming, and FREE FOR EVERYONE… but I need your help. Please chip in by making a small monthly contribution to keep this site alive & growing. $4.96 will buy a sweet Pack ‘o Dingers, and with it, I promise to catch many bass in your honor. Thanks. You are a gentleman & a scholar! -AJ

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