The Fish Wheel
Do you know what a fish wheel is? If you haven’t seen one before, you can see one in action here (and below). A fish wheel is an ingenious machine that is used to catch salmon in Alaska. A giant wheel is propelled by the current of a river and as it turns, its large baskets occasionally scoop up fish.
In contrast with the targeted, precise technology of fly-fishing, the fish wheel isn’t a very advanced or intelligent system. In the video I linked above, the wheel catches multiple fish with each turn but even if it were only successful on every hundredth turn, it would still be productive—and with zero effort. Once in place, the fish wheel is propelled by the river and the catch simply needs to be collected. More sophisticated methods, like fly-fishing, require a lot more effort.
In recent weeks, I’ve been pondering the wisdom of the fish wheel. I’ve noticed that there are many examples of similarly simple, low-effort, systems that we can use in our lives. Here are a few:
Placing your alarm clock far away from bed so that you need to get out of bed to turn it off.
Setting your bank account to automatically deposit a small portion of your paycheck to a retirement or savings account.
Keeping a book you’d like to read on your nightstand.
In each of these examples, maintaining the system requires little to no effort. And like the fish wheel, even if it isn’t successful on each “turn,” over the long run, it can produce a substantial “catch.” Even if you place your alarm clock far from bed, you might still choose to snooze. Not every small deposit into a retirement account will produce a huge, immediate return on your investment. And keeping a book on your nightstand doesn’t guarantee that you will read every night. Nevertheless, by having these systems in place, you are much more likely to achieve occasional success. You’ll get up some of the time, your investments will eventually accumulate, and over time, you will finish that book.
This week I invite you to consider the lesson of the fish wheel.
What fish wheels are currently operating in your life? What new fish wheels could you set up that would increase the size of your catch?
God Bless,
Dan
