Pursuing Big Dreams - Catch That Big Fish!
Written by Amey in June 2012
A few years back, on a sunny Sunday morning, I visited Palolem beach with my cousins. When we reached the beach, we could see a lovely deserted island popularly known as ‘Monkey Island’ (marked as Kankon Island on Google maps). The island alluringly beckoned to us and we decided to take a closer look at it.
We walked towards a rocky area, as the villagers told us we could wade across from there to ‘Monkey Island’ in low tide. However, we found that the water between us and the island was neck deep and the current very strong. We decided not be take a risk and instead sat down to enjoy the sea view.
After a while, we noticed an old man fishing. He seemed to be having a bad day, as there were only three-four small fish next to him. We felt sorry for him and hoped he would catch a bigger one. After a few minutes, our prayers were answered and he reeled in a big fish. We felt happy thinking he would have a good meal. However, to our dismay, he removed the big fish from the hook and threw it back into the water. We were shocked! We asked him “Why did you throw the big fish back?” He gave us a toothless grin and said “I only have a tiny tavo (frying pan) at home.”
After a good laugh, one of my cousins advised him to buy a bigger frying pan. Another suggested that he could cut the big fish into small pieces before frying it!
This is not a true story. Also, this article is not about fishing and frying pans, but about following our big dreams.
Like the old man who threw back the big fish because it did not fit his tiny frying pan, we often dismiss our big dreams because we feel they are too big to fit our existing mindsets and abilities.
Let us apply the two approaches suggested above to achieve our big dreams.
Approach 1: Get a bigger frying pan
a. Boost your self-confidence. Zig Ziglar, the world's foremost authority on motivation says “When your image improves, your performance improves”. Make a list of your ten best achievements so far, your top strengths and what other people see as your strengths and top abilities and read this list to gain confidence.
b. Ensure that your dream is important to you and is in sync with your top values in life.
c. Acquire new skills/abilities needed to achieve your dream. According to Jim Rohn, America's foremost business philosopher, “You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.” Identify the skills needed to achieve your dream and see how you can acquire them. Find experts and learn from them.
Approach 2: Cut the fish into small pieces
Achieving your big dream might seem overwhelming at first. Break the big dream into smaller, more manageable goals. Think about something that you can do within one month, within a week and what you can do today to achieve that big dream.
That big dream is waiting for you. Cast your line and reel in that big dream!
Written by Amey in June 2012
A few years back, on a sunny Sunday morning, I visited Palolem beach with my cousins. When we reached the beach, we could see a lovely deserted island popularly known as ‘Monkey Island’ (marked as Kankon Island on Google maps). The island alluringly beckoned to us and we decided to take a closer look at it.
We walked towards a rocky area, as the villagers told us we could wade across from there to ‘Monkey Island’ in low tide. However, we found that the water between us and the island was neck deep and the current very strong. We decided not be take a risk and instead sat down to enjoy the sea view.
After a while, we noticed an old man fishing. He seemed to be having a bad day, as there were only three-four small fish next to him. We felt sorry for him and hoped he would catch a bigger one. After a few minutes, our prayers were answered and he reeled in a big fish. We felt happy thinking he would have a good meal. However, to our dismay, he removed the big fish from the hook and threw it back into the water. We were shocked! We asked him “Why did you throw the big fish back?” He gave us a toothless grin and said “I only have a tiny tavo (frying pan) at home.”
After a good laugh, one of my cousins advised him to buy a bigger frying pan. Another suggested that he could cut the big fish into small pieces before frying it!
This is not a true story. Also, this article is not about fishing and frying pans, but about following our big dreams.
Like the old man who threw back the big fish because it did not fit his tiny frying pan, we often dismiss our big dreams because we feel they are too big to fit our existing mindsets and abilities.
Let us apply the two approaches suggested above to achieve our big dreams.
Approach 1: Get a bigger frying pan
a. Boost your self-confidence. Zig Ziglar, the world's foremost authority on motivation says “When your image improves, your performance improves”. Make a list of your ten best achievements so far, your top strengths and what other people see as your strengths and top abilities and read this list to gain confidence.
b. Ensure that your dream is important to you and is in sync with your top values in life.
c. Acquire new skills/abilities needed to achieve your dream. According to Jim Rohn, America's foremost business philosopher, “You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.” Identify the skills needed to achieve your dream and see how you can acquire them. Find experts and learn from them.
Approach 2: Cut the fish into small pieces
Achieving your big dream might seem overwhelming at first. Break the big dream into smaller, more manageable goals. Think about something that you can do within one month, within a week and what you can do today to achieve that big dream.
That big dream is waiting for you. Cast your line and reel in that big dream!
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