The other day while out on my sailboat, I noticed a good-sized catfish bloated and floating belly up. I think a lot when I’m sailing. Sometimes very deep thoughts, sometimes not so deep thoughts.
I’m not quite sure which category this thought fits in, but I wondered aloud as I watched the floating corpse float by if fish realize when they are dying. I mean, do they equate not feeling well with the impending loss of their mortality, or do they simply continue to swim around looking for food until the gills simply stop producing oxygen?
I read somewhere once that fish do not have the ability to remember. I guess that’s why it’s impossible to teach fish tricks or math. Knowing this, I wondered if they could reason how long they’d actually been sick. You know, like the fish asks himself, “How long have I felt this way? Was I this sick yesterday, this morning, a few minutes ago? I can’t remember. Oh well, guess I’ll find something to eat. What was I just thinking about? I don’t feel well. I wonder how long I’ve felt this way? Was I this sick yesterday? Oh well, guess I’ll find something to eat. I don’t feel well.”
And on, and on the dying fish goes until his lifeless form floats to the surface.
Fish have no hospitals to go to to find out what’s wrong with them. They don’t have friends to tell them they look bad. They don’t have a spouse to suggest they get checked out. They just suddenly cease to exist when the illness can no longer be staved off by their immunity system.
As a human job seeker, you are not without support if your career is getting sick. There are “doctors” who can help diagnose and fix your ailing career. You have friends and family who realize you haven’t been gainfully employed since Nixon was in the White house.
I truly believe some job seekers are like dying fish who don’t know their career search is dying or dead. They refuse to reach out to professionals who can get them going in the right direction and breath new life into their job search. I refuse to believe they are completely unaware of the peril. But for some reason they just won’t accept the fact that they are circling the drain.
If, like the poor fish, you can’t remember how long your career has been sick, it’s definitely time to seek professional guidance.
By Rob Poindexter
Great, Great, Great, story!
Thank you Sharon. So glad you liked it.
Rob
Exactly, Rob, you made me laugh with your fish analogy but then in the end when you pulled in the message, I thought of multiple experiences this week when I watch the desperation of some job seekers and try to help from the sidelines through Twitter or our blog posts. But as you say, sometime you need to go get and pay for the help.
Thank you!
So right Julie. Thanks for weighing in.
Rob
Rob –
I laughed out loud reading this (and frightened a few sleeping dogs in the process. Ha!) It wasn’t the subject matter; it was your witty delivery. The analogy is spot on!
Back when I used to work as an office manager in a veterinary hospital, I’d often hear vet/client conversations regarding difficult decisions.
One day, a client was weighing the ramifications of amputating his dog’s leg, after an encounter with a car mangled it beyond repair. His biggest concern was the dog wouldn’t be “as happy” and that wasn’t fair.
The vet gently suggested he stop attaching human emotions to the dog’s feeling. She went on to explain, dogs don’t worry about things like a missing leg as a human would. They wake up and “think,” “That’s odd, I’m missing a leg. Oh well. No big deal. I’ll balance on three. Now someone, please throw the ball for me.”
That dogs lives a few miles up the road from me. Know what? The vet was right. To this day, I see him running across fields, as fast, if not faster, than my four-legged crew — happy and smiling the entire time.
Like the fish in your story, he gets up and focuses on the day’s adventure not on what’s missing or feeling bad.
Job seekers frequently have difficulty seeing the value in seeking help; they focus on what’s missing, expending energy that could be used for forward movement. Understandable for humans, but certainly not very productive.
May we all be more dog-like (or fish-like) in our approach to things – job seeker or not – keep on truckin’
OK. I’m done blogging on your blog. It’s time for the goldfishes’ calculus lesson. 🙂
I’m glad you got such a kick out my rambling, Dawn. And thanks for expanding on my thoughts.
Rob
LOL! Loved this one.
I admit, I’ve seen many floating fish in my lifetime, but have never thought about their thoughts… You know I will next time. 🙂
Erin
Thank you Erin. I had a lot of fun writing this one. Thanks for letting me know you had fun reading it.
Rob