These days it can be difficult to cope with the uncertainty, lack of clarity, and sudden changes of information/direction each day brings.

It’s easy to feel out of control.

In moments (so many moments) when I feel this way, I am reminded of a phrase my husband uses when he comes home from fishing and I ask him how it went,

“It’s called fishing, not catching.”

Why?

Because no matter what kind of experience he had—lots of fish, no fish—the joy for him is putting together his tackle box, organizing his reels, thinking about his bait, choosing his location and then letting things happen as they will…

His sunny personality is a blessing.

What can those of us whose personalities are more prone to thunderstorms, tornadoes, and freak hailstorms do to change our weather?

Remind ourselves that preparation is within our control—and it can be joyful.

That – with the right mindset—there is joy in fine tuning a skill set, ruminating on what “bait” might be most attractive to our customers, having time to try new ways of doing things…and then trying something else if nobody bites.

So the next time you find yourself panicking or beating yourself up because you aren’t catching what you hoped for, remind yourself that the only things within your control are your preparation and your process—and (catch and) release the tension associated with a desired outcome.

Because it’s called fishing, not catching.

For more lessons learned from fishing take a look at “How Can You Get Investors to Do More than Nibble? How Can you Get Them to Bite?”