Many men go fishing all their lives...

 
Point to Ponder

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.”

-Henry David Thoreau
 

Storyline - by Rajiv Shah

Bruce Lee dedicated his life to pursuing an understanding of the body, mind, and spirit within martial arts. He pushed the boundaries of traditional techniques and the limits of his own body. The results were evident in his physique, his strength, and ability to lay an opponent on the floor with the most economical and explosive martial arts the world has seen. His legacy to push the martial arts out of forms and into what he believed to be a fluid, formless, and rigorously simple process of fighting still influences fighters across multiple disciplines around the world.

In an early scene in “Enter the Dragon,” Bruce is coaching a young fighter with his technique. He tells the student to kick him. The student throws out a kick without much thought, as he probably has done hundreds of times. Lee moves toward his pupil and says, “What was that? An exhibition? We need emotional content. Try again.”

This time when they square up, the student is bubbling with irritation. He throws a kick, this time with more force. Again, Lee moves towards his young student, “I said emotional content, not anger.”

This time they face off and the student kicks, and kicks. Bruce smiles in approval, “that's it” and asks, “how did it feel to you?”

The student's eyes glaze over, “let me think ...” he says.

SMACK! Bruce Lee bops him on the head, “Don't think! Feel...”
 

Reflection

I find this scene particularly revealing, as it illustrates a challenge we all have faced. How many times do we do things without knowing why we are doing them, or execute them for reasons that have no resonance?

What we do decide to engage with should fill us with purpose. When we feel purpose it will be effortless to suffuse our work with 'emotional content.'

How do you feel about what you do? Why? Assess your answers and see if you can find ways to apply your energies towards filling work with meaning.

Comments

[Curious]

What is the meaning of " Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after"?

[Men's rights advocate]

You can say similar thing about Women "Many women go shopping items all of their lives without knowing it is not items they are after."

[California Guy]

This reflection reminds me of the question "Do you live to work, or do you work to live?" Other expressions that come to mind include "work/life balance" or "work/life effectiveness."

I like the former question better because of how it frames "work" as a percentage of a person's life. Also, a person's approach/perspective of "work" can have a profound impact on a person's quality of life. For example, 2 sets of employees in the same company working similar hours: one says that they don't have a life due to the long work hours (life enables work), and the other one says that they have yet to work a day in their life (work enables life).

The latter expressions are less desirable to me because it frames "work" and "life" as "either/or." The more time that is spent at work, the less time that is spent at life.

[Alka]

Rajiv is a great writer.. it is great to read his FR..

[Amy]

To Curious Here is the answer: Source WikiAnswers

Thoreau's fishing aphorism explained

...Thoreau means that what people are failing to notice is that what we really want is the experience of doing something, and the good feeling of accomplishment that accompanies something. Thoreau uses the example of fishing to make his statement, most people who go out fishing believe that they are going out to fish, when in fact they are most usually going out have the fishing experience. People are going out fishing to learn patience, and to see the beauty of the water where the fish are. Sometimes they are going out for feeling of success that comes with catching a fish, and throw the fish back in the water, other times they are going just for the time of quiet reflection that you get while fishing. Also this suggestion is not restricted to fishing it applies to all parts of life; it's the journey not the destination...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_Many_men_go_fishing_all_of_their_lives_without_knowing_that_it_is_not_fish_they_are_after_mean

[Friend]

I especially liked this week’s reflection.
The Bruce Lee movie scene hits home with me.
Thanks and have a great weekend!

[Quality Guy]

I'm a Bruce Lee fan and your description of the scene from "Enter the Dragon" fired some neurons such that I could see and hear the scene vividly in my mind. I work in a large company, and often times when questions are asked about why a process or activity is done a certain way, the answer that one often hears is "because its always been done that way". It takes good leadership to not settle for the status quo, and to question whether what is being done today is still relevant from the context in which it was developed. It takes great leadership to ensure that the proper actions are taken to continuously ensure relevancy.