The Fisherman and the Broken Net: When Trying Harder Isn’t the Answer

There was once a fisherman who owned a small wooden boat and a net he had used for years. It had caught enough fish to feed his family, keep him working, and give him peace on the water. But one morning, the net tore.

Only a small hole at first.

He tied a knot.

Problem solved, he thought.

But soon it tore again.

Then again.

And again.

He patched it over and over until the net looked more like knots than rope. He worked harder, cast further, waited longer. He sailed in stronger winds, riskier weather, deeper waters — all to make up for what he refused to accept:

The net was no longer working.

Yet he kept pushing because:

• “I don’t have time to buy a new one.”

• “This used to work fine.”

• “I can’t afford to stop.”

One evening, after another long day with barely any catch, he sat in his empty boat staring at the tangled web in his hands. Slowly, the truth landed heavier than any fish he could ever pull in:

He wasn’t tired from fishing.

He was tired from struggling with something that could no longer do its job.

The next morning, he finally put the net down. He walked to the village market and bought a new one. It cost money. It took time. It meant admitting that what worked in the past wasn’t working anymore.

But on his first day out with the new net, he caught more fish with half the effort.

Not because he worked harder…

but because he stopped forcing what was broken.

Sometimes “Working Hard” Is the Problem

We pride ourselves on endurance. On effort. On pushing through. We survive things we should never have had to endure. We keep going long after we should have changed our approach.

But there’s a difference between strength and stubbornness.

We often keep repairing things we should replace:

• old coping strategies

• relationships that drain us

• beliefs that once protected us but now hold us back

• habits that helped us survive but won’t help us grow

Trying harder doesn’t fix what isn’t meant to keep working.

Sometimes growth means letting a tool go so we can choose a better one.

What Is Your Broken Net?

You don’t have to throw your whole life away and start again.

Just notice one place where you’re trying too hard:

• where it takes more energy than it gives back

• where the return no longer matches the effort

• where you’re holding on because you “always have”

Effort shouldn’t hurt your life.

It should support it.

If This Resonates…

Maybe you’re not failing.

Maybe your net is.

And maybe the bravest thing you can do isn’t to try harder…

…but to try differently.

If this feels true for you, I’d love to know: What’s one “broken net” you’re ready to stop repairing?

You’re allowed to choose tools that help you — not ones that exhaust you.

That’s self-respect, not weakness.