How Do You Cook Your Fish?

Julia is an amazing cook, and one of her specialties is cooking fish.

One day, her friend Natalie visited her at home, and she asked Julia to share some tips about how she is cooking fish in this amazing way.

So the following dialogue took place:

Julia: ‘’well, you get the fish, and then cut the head and the tail. Then you put the fish in the pan and…’’

Natalie interrupted and asked: ‘’Wait for a second, but why should I cut the head and the tail of the fish before I start cooking it?’’.

Julia: ’’I learned this way from my mom, and I was always doing it for the past 20 years in the same way, and you see the result, an amazingly cooked fish. However, you have a point; I will call my mom and ask her’’.

So Julia ran away to grab her phone and directly called her mom.

Julia: ‘’good morning mom, I have my friend Natalie here at home with me, and I was teaching her how to cook fish in this beautiful way that you taught me. But when I was explaining to her, she asked me about the reason why should she cut the head and the tail of the fish before cooking it. Can you please tell me so that I can answer her?’’.

Julia’s Mom: ‘’Sure, I taught you to prepare it this way because we had a small pan at our home. That’s why we were cutting the head and tail first so that the fish can fit into the pan. But when it comes to you, you have already bigger pans at your home, so you do not need to cut the head and the tail before cooking’’.

If Julia asked herself one time through the past 20 years ‘’why am I doing what I am doing?’’, she could have easily figured out that she is wasting time, effort, and resources on an unnecessary cooking step.

Maybe she could have come up with a better, shorter, or even more efficient way of cooking the fish. But this is only one side of the damage.

However, the real damage will occur when she starts teaching the wrong ways & methodologies to other people such as her family and friends, or the upcoming generations such as her kids.

How many times have you done something without knowing why you did it?

How many times have you participated in transferring the wrong methodologies, techniques, and beliefs to others around you unconsciously, because you never stopped and asked yourself ’’why’’ or understood the purpose of what you are doing?

And finally, what’s stopping you from being a leader who creates the rules -in other words, your own style of doing the things-instead of just following what’s given to you?

Julia was lucky because the time she wasted was limited and short. Guess how much time, effort, and even money you have already spent on doing meaningless things that resulted already in bigger damage?

Start with yourself now. Question what you do daily and try to come up with easier, smarter ways of doing things.

And if you are not sure about something, then, at least, do not pass it on to others.

Be a person who creates the rules, not just a blind follower. Be a leader who lights the way for other people.