The Fisherman’s Tale And The Art Of Complicating Our Lives

Human beings have a gift to complicate our lives. It is something evolutionary, we are designed to survive adversity, so when we think we are in front of one our entire defensive system is activated. The problem is that most of the time they are not real adversities. Rather, we are the ones who interpret them this way.

Many of these perceived threats respond to  pseudo needs. These are nothing more than desires that we ourselves turn into absolute needs, without which we think we cannot be happy or have a decent life.

The story of the fisherman

“A rich man, a businessman, well dressed, expensive clothes and a wasteful manner, was walking through the port, when  he met a modest fisherman. The fisherman worked in his nets and in his little boat and had a bucket full of lots of freshly caught fish. The rich businessman asked him:

– Hey, you have a lot of skill! He looks like a very good fisherman! You have caught a lot of fish by yourself and with this little boat. How much time do you spend fishing?

The fisherman replied:

– Well, look at you, the truth is that I never get up before 8:30. Breakfast with my children and my wife, I accompany my children to school and work, then I go quietly reading the newspaper to the port, where I take my boat to go fishing. I am an hour or an hour and a half, at the most, and I return with the fish I need, no more, no less. Later, I go to prepare food at home, and I spend the afternoon quietly, until my children and my wife come and we enjoy doing our homework together, walking, playing. Some afternoons I spend with my friends playing the guitar.

– So you tell me that in just one hour you have caught all these fish? Then you are an extraordinary fisherman! Have you thought about spending more hours a day fishing?

– So that?

– Well, because if you invest more time fishing, 8 hours, for example, you would have 8 times more catches, and thus more money!

– So that?

– Well, with more money you could reinvest in a bigger boat, or even hire fishermen to go fishing with you, and thus have more catches.

– So that?

– Well, with this increase in turnover, your net profit would be enviable insurance! Your cash flow would be conducive to having a small fleet of boats, and thus, to grow a fishing company that would make you very, very rich.

– So that?

– But don’t you understand? With this little fishing empire, you only have to worry about managing everything. You  would have all the time in the world  to do whatever you want. He would never have to get up early, he could have breakfast every day with his family, he could accompany the children to school, play with them in the afternoon, play the guitar with his friends … “

– And isn’t that what I’m doing right now? -concluded the fisherman.

A story to think about how we manage our time

We cling to these pseudo-needs as if they were the food we need to survive or the water to hydrate us. In addition, we send the message that we have to get that something that is going to fill our gaps. In the journey that we undertake to achieve what we lack, we lose many other things, which are even more important: the day to day, the enjoyment of the little things, the calm …

The fisherman’s tale is a very interesting reflection in which a man who is calmly fishing. Then he is surprised by a wealthy businessman, who recommends that he invest more time of his quiet life, in order to make more money, which in turn will lead him to have a peaceful life.

Absurd, right? Well, it is precisely what many of us do every day: subtract quality time from our day to day to produce more, have more money and escape a life with more tranquility, seeking a life with more tranquility.

Let’s enjoy our time, don’t forget that it is finite. Let’s enjoy life and its little things, those that make us a little happier every day: a good sunset, a coffee with a friend, a good conversation, music, art, nature …

The more I have, the more I buy, the more I get into debt and in turn, the more I need. Many millionaires are poor in time and quality of life. We can remember many famous people who, having everything, have fallen into terrible depressions. So I wonder … what is the point?