Don’t be fooled.
A win is not guaranteed just because the conditions look perfect.
Two friends with whom I was having lunch this past week gave me this message.
These guys are pro fishermen. One of them mentioned a phrase I had never heard before in my 46 years of life.
It caught my attention.
My friend mentioned “The Bluebird Skies.”
First, I thought it was some unique strategy that fishermen use to catch more fish, but I was wrong. “The Bluebird Skies” is an environmental factor that can make things hard for fishermen. Especially if you’re a rookie.
Before we get started, let me give you a disclaimer – I know nothing about fishing, other than throwing the hook in the water and hoping a fish bites.
Ok, let’s look at “The Bluebird Skies.”
“The Bluebird Skies”
What’s “The Bluebird Skies”
The bluebird skies refer to a day with a clear sky, no heavy clouds, no disturbance, and no dark waters.
A bluebird sky day is also followed by a cold front.
Just a perfect day!
Yes! – The perfect day for humans, not for fish, and definitely not for the fisherman.
Here’s the problem!
On a bluebird sky day, the fish become more skeptical. They can see everything. If they suspect that something is wrong with a lure, they’re gone. Their skepticism and the change in temperature make them leave the shallow areas where they normally eat, and swim down to darker and deeper areas.
It’s a bigger challenge for the fisherman
Why? Because metaphorically speaking, the fish go hide in the basement of the waters.
As I was thinking about this environmental factor (The Bluebird Skies), I thought about personal development and how we become prisoners of our own bluebird skies.
We fall into comfort.
Comfort is the most deadliest weapon to your personal growth. When a person is comfortable, everything feels great.
The urgency for change dies, the hunger for a better life is gone, and we end up settling for crumbs.
Every year, you have hundreds of thousands of people who create a new year’s resolution, but a few months later, they fall off and end up the same or worse because now they have to carry the burden of self-disappointment.
It gets worse! Some people live a life that they hate, and at the end of their journey, they die with regret.
So, how do we overcome our bluebird skies?
Simple...
We do what the fisherman does.
When a fisherman deals with a bluebird sky, they don’t just quit and go home. They reposition themselves. They change their strategy.
They use lighter lines, smaller lures, and they fish in deeper waters. In fact, my friends were saying that the best thing to do when fishing in a blue sky is to find the line between shallow and deep water because that’s where fish find their comfort zone.
What about us? Well, we can do the same thing.
If you have a goal that you want to reach, but things look difficult, don’t quit instead, reposition yourself and change your strategy just like the fisherman.
I am a big advocate of coaching and mentoring. To me, a coach is the shortcut to where I want to go. There is a beautiful Chinese proverb that I love, which I relate to coaching and mentoring, it says...
'“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back”
This is true. Every time I get stuck and confused in life, I go to my coaches and mentors and ask what to do. They tell me, and I do it. It works all the time.
Believe me, I would love to live under a bluebird sky all the time and not have to worry about anything, but life is too short my friend to waste it in “The Comfort Zone.”
Next time you fall into a bluebird sky moment, don’t stay too long because eventually the fisherman called “Life” will find you, catch you, and take you out.
That’s a wrap for this week!
Before you go: Here’s how I can help you…
Find out the 5 biggest mistakes communicators make – why they make them – and how to fix them. www.publicspeakingforbeginners.com
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