Put a Shark in the Tank

(Yes, it is Story Time. The last time I told a story was when I was in school. It gives me pleasure to share a good story with you. I hope you would like it)

Somewhere in the 19th Century, all of a sudden, popularity of a certain type of fish reached a booming high in Japan. People of Japan had gone mad for this fish type and were devouring it like nothing before. All of the fishermen were busy collecting this variety of fish from sea and getting it to the local markets. 

Initially, a considerable quantity of fish was available in the coastal region and hence it was not difficult to get a high yield of the fish, which were also fresh. But as we all humans are, people of Japan kept on consuming the fish and soon there was acute shortage of fish near coastal regions. Fishermen had to go further inside the sea in order to collect the fish. Being fishermen of early 19th century, they didn't have access to Refrigeration Techniques and hence by the time fishermen came back from the deep sea after collecting the fish and made it available in the market, the fish got stale and also lost its specific taste, because of which it was very much famous. Soon, because of the degraded quality and flavor, popularity of fish went down. 

But later on in the first few decades of 19th Century, Techniques of refrigeration were invented and stated becoming widely available. Fishermen took advantage of this and started preserving the fish till it was sold in the market. But this also couldn't prove beneficial as people didn't like the flavor of refrigerated fish and hence couldn't prove to be a good idea.  

But then, Some of the wise fishermen thought of cultivating the fish in artificial ponds and lakes and tanks. Soon they were able to cultivate fish in house, in artificial tanks. Now, fresh fish was available to people, all of sudden popularity of fish again reached cloud nine. 

But as opposed to expectation, popularity of fish started plummeting again. People cited Loss of Flavor as the reason for not liking the fish, which was surprising, as the cultivation conditions were almost same for sea fish and tank fish.Now fishermen were again in problem and had to look for a sustainable solution. 

After years of research and experiments, reason for loss of taste/flavor in the tank cultivated fish was found. The fish in the open sea were also the main food of sharks and other giant fish in the sea. Since these fish, which people liked, were vulnerable to other giant fish, a certain type of enzyme was being secreted by their brain due to their fear for sharks. This enzyme was instrumental in producing a certain type of Protein which was liked by the people who ate these fish. In all the earlier temporary solutions, it can be observed that this protein was not being produced at all (Artificial Cultivation) or must not be maintaining its form (Refrigeration).

It was Me, you know !!

(Frankly speaking, I don't know the next part of story wherein whether fishermen put the shark in the tanks to improve the quality of fish or they found some other solutions. But for the morale of the story, this much part is sufficient.) 

So, it was the Shark which was actually the culprit and was very much instrumental in creating ( or in this case, not creating) desired effect. It was the fear and instinct of Survival for the fish which made them a heartthrob cuisine throughout the community. Naturally, when the fish were in a tank, they were protected from the outside dangers (Sharks) and happily satisfied with their lives. So do their brain, which immediately adjusted to the Safe environment and got cocooned in the same.

More or less is the situation of us. We are always trying be SAFE in our life. Yes, it is not at all wrong to seek safety, but just trying to be safe in our respective domains is not life. Say for example of a child in a school. The child initially is very avert for going to school. But as it grows and gets in higher standards, it comes to know that it can easily manage the school work and exams. Its mind gets into the cocoon of Safety. When the same child, after becoming a teenager, goes to college, same cycle repeats. Then again the same for higher education, jobs, higher responsibilities and so on.

Promotions from Schools to colleges then to higher education and finally job (and/or business) are inevitable and cannot be skipped. It is after person's landing into Job Cocoon (or it can also be called Safe life cocoon) that one has to 'Put Shark into the Tank'. Getting ensconced into whatever we have  and whatever we know will invariably make us less and less popular, just like the fish in the tank. 

Avoiding being ensconced in our Skill sets, Financial conditions, Education, Capabilities and other cocoons which we create around ourselves is necessary for becoming popular and creating our valency in the market. Obviously, putting a shark in the tank doesn't mean that we should take risks blindly and start gambling. But, at least checking if we can take a risk is a done thing. 

So, Don't form a Cocoon - Put a Shark in the Tank.         

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PS - This story is inspired by real incidences.

Image Credits - pixabay.com

Morale Credits - Yours Truly !

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