Gaining Courage

Gaining Courage...but how? Why?  Is it really going to help me at all?  You bet your best yak it will!  And you know what?  You don’t even need to go to Oz to get it.  We all go through ups and downs in our life.  There are moments when we feel like we can conquer anything and others where we feel bruised and battered.  Surprisingly for us fisherman, this sometimes gets us a little more when we have to take a skunkset picture.  Our best lure isn’t producing, things just kept going wrong, etc.  We lose our courage at times but we can get it back and have it stick with us longer if we follow the couple tips below.

1) Baby Steps.  Yep!  Take life at smaller chunks so that you can achieve them.  By breaking it down into bite size chunks you will have many successes behind you and will gain courage to go after your goals again!  

2) Be consistent!  This is one of the hardest things to do for most people.  But again, if you take baby steps you should be gaining the courage to be even more consistent.  Make a plan, put it on your to do list, write it in your calendar, whatever it takes just keep going and go after it.  The smaller chunks will help you be consistent and gain success!

3) “Fake it ‘till ya make it!” That’s right, fake your confidence!!  I actually tell my choir this quite a bit.  Why?  Because having confidence in yourself, in what you believe, and what you stand for will help you gain the courage to achieve what you want.  For us fisherman, sometimes we lose confidence in ourselves and baits that we use.  So you will have to dig deep and tell yourself you got it and hit the water again.  For me, I think of the other reasons I enjoy being on the water.  Being outside, enjoying the fresh air, look at the beautiful scenery, etc.  I enjoy other reasons to be outside.  But I don’t let it stop me.  I dig up the courage to head out again and fish again and catch fish.  I tell myself that “I’m going to catch a fish!” and leave with a positive attitude.  Even if I didn’t truly believe it, I faked it!  So I use other reasons to help me dig up the courage!

Days flying by? Slow them down with this easy sequence.

It’s amazing how work seems to drag on and the weekend is gone in a blink of an eye. Besides the actual difference in amount of days, life has a way of throwing so many things our way that it is hard to slow down.  And it’s getting even harder with the instant access to information from cellphones, social media, and all that technology.  While this is a necessary part of the majority of our lives we need to have time for ourselves.  We need to find time to slow down, find ourselves, and enjoy every part of life.  For many of us outdoors folks it when we are outside.  Sadly sometimes we can’t always be in outside.  Below is a short sequence to help you find peace and enjoy the moment, your life, and everything that much more.  

Going insane inside

Sadly here are times when we can’t get outside and enjoy our favorite hobby.  When this happens try to find 5 or more minutes a day you can have to yourself and give the following a try.  

While wearing comfortable clothes, find a spot that is as calm and quiet as possible in your home.  Sit of the floor with your legs either in a pretzel shape (like we did when we were kids) or out in front of you.  Place your hands gently on your knees and close your eyes.  Take 3 slow, deep breaths, in and out through the nose.  As you breath try to let all thoughts leave your mind.  Don’t worry about what happened, what’s coming up, nothing.  Just be in the moment.  You may now open your eyes.  Breath in through your nose and as you exhale reach your hands farther in front of you with your palms down.  Keep your hands where they are and breath in again.  When you exhale, try to stretch your arms forward a little more.  Now keep your hands there and take another slow, deep breath through your nose.  

Slowly bring yourself back up with your hands on your knees.  Straighten your back and reach your left arm above your head.  Lean to your right and stretch the left arm to try and have it touch the wall to your right.  Inhale, exhale, and come back to your seated position.

Repeat with your right arm and stretch to the left.  

Take your time and stand up tall.  Reach your arms out to your side so they are parallel to the ground.  Inhale.  As you exhale keep your hands extended out, keep a flat back, and look ahead, slowly lower your upper body to the ground.  When your upper body is parallel or as close as possible, lower your arms to the ground and round out your back.  Inhale and exhale.  Slowly roll up keeping your arms hanging down.  Imagine you can feel your vertebrae lining up as you slowly come up.

Stand tall, close your eyes, and take 3 more slow, deep breaths, in and out through your nose. Then you can open your eyes and go about your day.

If you have more time available I highly suggest you google short Yoga videos.  I know for many guys it seems lame.  I used to think the same thing.  But give it a try and you may be surprised how much you like it!  Good luck, and find yourself.