 Top 5 Lessons To Learn From “Do You Have Enough Sharks In Your Tank?"
See "Do You Have Enough Sharks In Your Tank?"
There is a real depth of lessons available to us in the story of "Do you have enough sharks in your tank", and here's what I consider to be the top five.
1. Having another shark thrown in our tanks is an invitation to "Say ‘YES!' Passionately to Life!".
Maybe it's simply a form of human insanity to want fewer sharks in our tanks. Throwing ourselves wholeheartedly at the next shark coming at us could well turn out to be the most liberating act of our lives!
2. Maybe the areas of our lives where we're stuck or moving sluggishly means that we don't have enough sharks in the tank.
Sometimes we struggle with the things we think we "should" do and get stuck or have difficulty building any real momentum. What do you need to do to add a shark to that particular tank? Give it some thought, and if you can't think of anything then maybe the real solution is simply setting it aside as a worthwhile goal. What are the benefits of accomplishing that goal? What would be the prices you would pay if you decided to let it go? Is there a more worthwhile goal you could create instead that would have a greater impact on the quality of your life? Would that goal come with a big enough shark for you? Try to struggle with those questions until you're clear you got a "hit".
3. Put sharks in other people's tanks.
Think about it.
At first glance that might sound a little aggressive, but the idea isn't about being aggressive, intimidating or threatening people with how sharp your teeth are. If having a shark in your tank is a beautiful thing, then work with people so that they can benefit from having sharks in their tanks, too. Whether you're a manager, coach, trainer, or consultant - or a husband, mom, son or sister - what are the people in your life struggling with and working towards? Are some of the goals they talk about mere hopes that they can't ever seem to actually pull off?
One great example of putting a shark in someone else's tank was the father who just couldn't seem to manage to quit smoking no matter how hard he tried. His young daughter came home from school crying one day after learning about the dangers for smokers. She was crying because she was afraid that because he smoked he wasn't going to live long enough to be at her wedding someday. It struck him like a two by four and he became a non-smoker that same day. Even though it was an ongoing struggle with stopping, his daughter had put a big enough shark in his tank to keep him struggling.
What sharks do you need to put in the tanks of the people you care about so that they can go on to accomplish their dreams? How can you work with them so that they can begin to appreciate their own sharks and being to put sharks in their own tanks?
4. Strive to remember that we always have a choice about how we think and feel about the different sharks in our tanks.
Let's face it; there are always going to be certain types of sharks that each of us is particularly prone to resisting and have difficulty appreciating, or times when it feels like there's just too many of them and not enough of us to go around - especially in today's world. And you know what? That's ok. Most of us seem to consistently compare how we're doing from day to day to our peak performance level, and the only way to be acknowledged or validated by such a comparison is going to be by waiting for the next occasion when we're operating at our peak performance level again.
It's a peak experience and can't really be compared to our daily lives. Giving a hundred percent of ourselves is not only going to look and feel differently from day to day, but sometimes even from moment to moment. It's so much more valuable to ask ourselves "Did I give a hundred percent?" than it is to ask ourselves "Why didn't I do better? ...or more? ...or something different?" And in those moments when you're choosing to say "NO!" to the sharks in your tank, can you still love, appreciate, and acknowledge yourself and the choices you're making anyway?
5. The sharks in our tanks are lifes greatest gift.
Let me guess: you think that one is just too much of a stretch?
When I went to the movie theatre to watch one of the "Lord of the Ring" movies that came out I remember sitting in the theatre really enjoying the movie and appreciating how heroic so many of the characters were. I had a sense that they were all actually really lucky to be on such a grand adventure! I was sort of mulling over the nature of being a hero in the back of mind as I watched Frodo and Sam struggle up the side of the mountain, and then I realized that it actually totally sucked to be them!
They were exhausted, starved, overwhelmed, dirty, thirsty, and homesick - to name a few - and would have gladly traded places with just about anybody on the planet for a nickel.
But in facing the sharks in each of their tanks the characters of the good guys were forged into becoming that person that each of them had known in their hearts they could always be but never knew how to bring it to the world - or perhaps had even dared to hope that they ever would.
Whether it was having a bold new sense of daring or confidence in their lives or finally claiming their greatness that was always there - each of them went on to forge a life for themselves that could simply no longer be mediocre. Their days of mediocrity were behind them forever.
We all long for that particular brand of greatness in our own lives. How differently might it feel to live our lives if we could all acknowledge the hero's journey that each of us is on and that the biggest and baddest sharks in our tanks are really no match for us; and are actually life's greatest gift to us?
Here's hoping you swim with the sharks!
Your partner in saying "YES!" to online success,
Tracy Phaup
http://www.tracyphaup.com
Tracy Phaup is the head of The Tracy Phaup Group, a consulting firm that specializes in offering services to Internet Marketers, Professional Bloggers and Infopreneurs. Their services range from content management and creation to blog and website management and creation, as well as every aspect of the marketing process. Find out more about how their services can benefit your bottom line at http://www.tracyphaup.com
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