Can fishing relieve stress & help you become more effective in business?
We all lead busier lives and often it’s hard to maintain a sensible work-life balance. Sometimes we get so busy, we become ineffective. At these moments, the conscious voice and constant dialogue in our heads overtakes and stifles any creative thinking and personal effectiveness.
Imagine a glass of water with silt in it. As brain activity increases the glass gets shaken. It’s hard to see clearly through that murky water. Sometimes all you need to do is simply stop and immerse yourself in an activity which allows you to relax, and see clearly. In other words, this gives the silt in the glass time to settle and allows everything the water to clear.
Fishing, whilst allowing you to relax also requires concentration and focus. By focusing on this outdoor pursuit which draws on a primal instinct of hunter-gatherer within us, this allows us to escape. Being in the water itself allows for thoughtful reflection and a calmer sense of being.
Take a look at the benefits of a fishing trip in Scotland and a day or two away from the desk:
1. It gets you away from the bustle of everyday life
You might pretend that the important aspect of your fishing day is in catching fish, having the best gear or competing with your friends, however, the real schnizz is that you manage to escape your daily routine. Once immersed in a day outdoors it’s easy to forget your daily routine and responsibilities.
2. Escape from your screens
Life doesn’t happen in your Inbox…Most of us have become addicted to our smartphones and the habitual behavior of constantly checking emails and communications. Uploading to social media, tweeting, and texting. It makes you wonder how we got by without mobile phones, however, they are here, and a necessary evil. Phycologists have called this syndrome information anxiety – the need to be checking everything, weather, news, emails, information. Will the world really miss you if you turned your phone off for a day…probably not. So the only thing to do on a fishing day is to switch your phone off and enjoy a cyber detox.
3. Exposure to the natural world
Why is it vital to switch your phone off? Well simply because you will miss all the beautiful elements of the natural world. Take time to soak up your surrounding environment, listen to the birdsong and soak up the small detail of the great outdoors. It’s hugely therapeutic and rewarding. We are blessed in Scotland with some quite breathtaking scenery and an abundance of wildlife. Stay disconnected from your phone and connected to nature – allow the waves of serenity to irrigate your parched soul.
4. It gives you time alone with your thoughts
Enjoying outdoor spaces and stillness and silence can be meditative and spending time along with your own thoughts can allow you to draw on the power of the subconscious mind. Often letting your mind settle, will generate some of your best business ideas and true eureka moments.
5. Forge relationships with friends or colleagues
Because fishing is a primal instinct, something deep-rooted within us and the limbic part of our brain. This is the part of the brain that drives our primal instincts, memories, emotions, and arousal. When you fish with a colleague or friend, it can be a deep bonding experience and many great friendships and successful business relationships have been forged when spending time outdoors fishing in Scotland.
6. It can demand heavy concentration and investment
Sit-in in front of the telly is not relaxing. This is because it’s passive. When fishing, you have to invest your highest levels of concentration and focus. Being involved in this way and keeping your mind on your quarry is deeply relaxing. Take salmon fishing for example. This is not an easy sport, it demands, focus, persistence and a methodical analytical approach. The art form of casting and focusing on covering every part of the river..and then there are the moments when you connect with a fish. The excitement, the concentration in playing the fish and landing it, all of this demands utmost concentration. My point is, while you are immersed in this wonderful pastime, you will be escaping the strains of everyday life.
7. It provides a reason to explore Scotland
When touring Scotland, what better way to really get a feel for the culture and the people than to immerse yourself in the sport which has its roots in our lochs and rivers. Scotland enjoys a deep heritage and folklore and angling tradition. Fishing also takes you to amazing Scottish locations – breathtaking scenery and your guide will know Scotland inside out. When not fishing you can tour and soak up the culture, scenery, and essence of Scotland. We provide trips that combine both.
9. It can be a source of huge accomplishment
The moment of landing and releasing a fish is hugely rewarding. That feeling of connecting with a creature from another element and watching it swim away safely. Photos of your experience will help restore memories that will never fade.
10. Fishing will tire you out – in a good way
My Nana always said, there’s good tired and bad tired. If you have trouble sleeping, then a day in the fresh air, fishing and enjoying nature will certainly help. You will be rewarded with a restful nights sleep and probably a sneak in a snooze on the way home in the Land Rover. For more information on our corporate fishing days – Go Here
Author Stewart Collingswood – MD Alba Game Fishing
