Change can be scary.
Whether you’re 10 years old, 20 years old or 50 years old, throughout our lives we’re all going to experience changes. New schools, new friendships, leaving home, starting jobs, changing jobs and sometimes taking a completely different direction from the one we thought we were heading in.
When you’re young especially, some of those changes can feel massive.
But something fishing has taught me over the years is that change isn’t always something we should fear. Sometimes it’s exactly what we need.
Think about a day on the bank.
You might turn up with a plan in your head. You’ve decided where you’re going to fish, what bait you’re going to use and how you’re going to catch them.
Then nothing happens.
The fish move. The weather changes. The wind turns around. What worked last week suddenly doesn’t work today.
You’ve got a choice: you can sit there doing exactly the same thing because it feels comfortable, or you can make a change.
Move swims. Change your bait. Try a different depth. Put a different rig on. Ask somebody for advice. Sometimes even the smallest change can completely turn your day around.
Life isn’t really that different.
You’re not always going to get everything right first time, and the plan you start with isn’t necessarily the plan you’ll finish with. That’s okay.
I’m actually going through a pretty big change in my own life at the moment: I’ve recently made the decision to leave my job and back myself with the opportunities that have come from Big Duffs Fishing. Part of that next chapter will see me spending time in America, working within the fishing industry over there while continuing everything I care about here in the UK.
Is that change a little scary? Of course it is.
But it’s also incredibly exciting.
I could have stayed where I was because it was familiar and comfortable, but I know where I want to go in life, and sometimes getting there means being brave enough to make a change.
That’s probably the biggest thing I’d like any young person reading this to take away.
You don’t have to have your entire life worked out - things will change. Your interests might change. Your friendship groups might change. You might discover something you’re passionate about that you never expected. You might try something and realise it isn’t for you.
None of that means you’ve failed: it means you’re learning.
Fishing teaches us to adapt, to be patient and to keep trying when things don’t go exactly as we planned. Those are lessons that go far beyond catching fish.
So, when change eventually comes your way, don’t automatically be afraid of it.
You never know where it might take you.
And just like fishing, sometimes the decision to try something different is the decision that changes everything.
As always, the biggest of big love to all the amazing students and coaches.