Hi folks,
They say as we get older we’re more resistant to change. Am I proof of that?.
OK, I’m old enough to be on Medicare and Social Security. That I’ll admit. What I have trouble admitting is that I’m less receptive to change than, say, 30 or 40 years ago.
Now my take on this (should it be true) is that as we age we continue to add experiences to our personal database. When I was 10 or 12 I discovered that I really, really disliked okra. When I was around 30 I discovered I didn’t like escargot (that’s snails cooked in their shell if you’re not up to speed on this). At 60 I learned that champagne and crab sautéed in butter were not for me.
Point is that as we experience things we also make decisions about those things. I started fishing when I was 3 or 4 and over the past 60+ years I have tried lots of different ways to catch fish in many, many different conditions and locations. Some worked, some not so much so. Each time I evaluated what I was doing and, subconsciously or consciously, made a decision about it.
So now that I am officially a “senior citizen” that database is getting pretty full. And as such I have a ton of data that I can pull up to make decisions with. Well thought out (in my opinion) decisions on what I do and do not want to do, do and do not want to try, and so on.
Last week my granddaughter was visiting and we thought about doing some fishing. My take was that even though she’s almost 20 years old, the good old reliable hook and worm would be our best bet in the neighbor’s pond. Her take, obviously from perusing her Dad’s equipment, was that if it wasn’t complex, shiny, and cost about the same as a dinner at Outback then it surely wouldn’t catch any fish. Take note here – her obvious lack of experience (and database) vs. Grandpa’s supreme database and lengthy experience.
I, being me, refused to entertain using such unproven and untried equipment. She, having a much smaller database, was effectively ready to “experience” so she could expand that database and know what wouldn’t work….
In the end I “won” if that’s an appropriate term. But what really happened, according to my granddaughter, was that I was (her words) “stuck in my ways” and unwilling to try something new. Needless to say my take was different: I simply knew what worked and was unwilling to use something that would not produce the expected results.
Now that I am older I suppose I do have stronger opinions about stuff. Dixie calls this “hard headedness”. I don’t. We have pizza on Fridays. Why? Because Friday nights I can enjoy a beer or two. Can’t do that during the week. We clean house on Mondays, shop for groceries on Thursdays, do a Costco or Sam’s Club run on Saturdays, and so on. And it’s not because we’re “stuck in our ways’, but it’s just that we know what works best and fits our lifestyle.
The point of all this rambling is that even though I wasn’t willing to tie on an expensive lure to fish a simple farm pond, I really am open to change and trying different things. And I really do think all of us need to guard against being “stuck in our ways” or unwilling to change. The world moves pretty fast these days and knowledge advances faster than it ever has. And even with a database filled with information over many, many years there’s still no reason we can’t take in more. But that expensive lure just wasn’t what we needed for the pond.
So here’s the bottom line: Don’t be afraid to try new stuff. Some of the new lures, reels, rods, and gear are fantastic. They are huge improvements over what has been offered in the past. But always rely on your experiences and that database you have acquired as well. Don’t be afraid to try different things, but don’t try them just because they’re simply “new”.
Maybe I should try hooking an escargot on my hook next time my granddaughter visits. That would be taking something I really dislike and using it in a very different way. And no one could accuse me of being “set in my ways”!
This Newsletter is full of some great stuff. We hope you’ll take a look and be willing to try it. Even if you’re my age I can assure you this is worth a serious test drive!
As always we sincerely thank you for your wonderful friendship and patronage. You make our days wonderful and give us reason to be thankful at night.
Tight Lines,
Tom Ashby
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