A PERSIAN SAYING -"It is good to know about the Truth and to talk about it, but it is better to know about the Truth and to talk about palm trees."
ADI GRANTH -"Devotion to God's name is my lamp; In this lamp is put the oil of suffering; The light of God's name burns away that oil, annulling yama's encounter. Listen, people of the world! Lest any carp at his faith: Vast heads of firewood are reduced to ashes by a tiny spark of fire. Devotion to God is my ritual charity; God's holy name my ceremonial; In this life and the next, this alone is my sustenance. Lord! Thy laudation to me is the holy Ganga and Banaras, Wherein my soul takes the holy dip. True holy bathing is when devotion to God abides in the heart day and night. Saith Nanak: The charity of God's grace is an exhaustible store."
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN INSCRIPTION -"Listen to your conviction, even if they seem absurd to your reason."
ANONYMOUS -"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new end."
ARCHBISHOP WILBER -"I plead for the beasts and birds that you will help to shield them, first; from the thoughtlessness of ignorance; secondly; from the senseless cruelties of fashion; thirdly; from the thoughtful barbarities of science."
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER -"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognised. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident.."
BALZAC -"Conviction brings a silent, indefinable beauty into faces made of the commonest human clay."
BARACK OBAMA -"I'm asking you to believe not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours."
BASAVARAJU -"The light in the eye cannot be imagined The sound in the ear cannot be described The taste in the tongue cannot find its counterparts The central nerve vital to awareness cannot be proved; In atom, particle, in grass, in wood Subtle, without end and without bottom, Dwells lord of caves."
BHAGAVAD GITA -"The Atman, Self, is the light; The light is covered by darkness, This darkness is delusion; That is why we dream. When the light of Atman drives out our darkness, That light shines forth from us, A sun in splendour, the revealed Brahmn."
BHAGAVADGITA -"Work done with selfish motives is inferior by far to selfless service or karma yoga. Therefore be a karma yogi, 0 Arjuna. Those who seek to enjoy the fruits of their work .are verily unhappy because one has no control over the results."
BOEHME -"Son, when thou art quiet and silent, then art thou as God was before nature and creature; thou art that which God then was; thou art that whereof he made thy nature and creature; Then thou hearest and seest even with that wherewith God himself saw and heard in thee, before ever thine own willing or thine own seeing began."
CHINESE SAYING -"When Heaven sends down calamities. There is hope of weathering them; When man brings them upon himself. There is no hope of escape."
DIONYSIUS -"We worship with reveren silence the unutterable truths and, with the unfathomable and holy veneration of our mind, approach that mystery of Godhead which exceeds all mind and being."
DOUGLAS ADAMS -"Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -the wheel, New York, war and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done is muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons."
EUGEN LONESCU -"Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together."
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE -"The consequences of our actions take hold of us quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have 'improved'."
GAUTAMA BUDDHA -"All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?"
GURU ARJAN -"I am wretched, stone-hearted, evil-minded, given to lust, Master, save me howsoever You may! You are all-powerful, You save them who seek Your protection, You look after them. Meditation, asceticism, discipline, cleanliness, and correct behaviour; None of these can obtain salvation. Says Nanak, with His grace He pulls one out of the dark well."
HELEN KELLER -"Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows."
HENRY D THOREAU -"In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language."
HU SHIH -"Even the absolute universality of the law of causality does not necessarily limit a person's freedom, because the law of causality not only enables him to explain the past and predict the future, but also encourages him to use his intelligence to create new causes and attain new results."
ITIVUTTAKA -"Lust, hatred, and delusion ruin the man of wicked heart, They are begotten in himself like the lush growth of pith in the stem."
J MOLIERE -"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it."
JULIUS LIPNER -"Diwali is Deepavali, literally 'a row of oil lamps'. It is a festival of illumination. The Divine Power Vishnu overcomes the darkness of the underworld."
KENOPANISHAC -"It is the ear of the ear,/ It is the mind of the mind./ It is the speech of the speech./ It is the breath of the breathing./ It is the eye of the eye..."
KENOPANISHAD -"By whom willed and directed does the mind alight on its objects? By whom commanded does the prana (vital breath), that precedes all, start? By whom willed do men utter speech? What intelligent power directs the eye to see, the ear to hear?"
KESHAVAN NAIR -"With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity."
LAO TZU -"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL -"And in our garden we must have enough thyme: 1, Thyme for each other 2. Thyme for family 3. Thyme for friends Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow."
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL -"For the garden of your daily living Plant three rows of peas 1. Peace of mind 2. Peace of heart 3. Peace of soul."
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL -"No garden is without turnips: 1. Turnip for meetings 2. Turnip for protesting injustice 3. Turnip to help one another."
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL -"Plant four rows of lettuce: 1. Lettuce be faithful 2. Lettuce be kind 3. Lettuce be patient 4. Lettuce really love one another."
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL -"Plant four rows of squash: 1. Squash gossip 2. Squash indifference 3. Squash grumbling 4. Squash selfishness."
MENCIUS -"Only when a man invites insult will others insult him. Only when a family invites destruction will others destroy it. Only when a state invites invasion will others invade it."
MOTHER TERESA -"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
MUHAMMAD ALL -"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."
OG MANDINO -"Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail."
PRAJNA PARAMITA -"I am not to be perceived by means of any visible form. Nor sought after by means of any audible sound; Whosoever walks in the way of iniquity, cannot perceive the blessedness of the Lord Buddha."
QURAN -"Glorified be He and High Exalted above all that they ascribe unto Him. Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth all vision."
RALPH NADER -"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done."
RAMANA MAHARSHI -"There is no Truth. There is only the truth within each moment."
REV R INMAN -"A great teacher never strives to explain her vision; she simply invites, you to stand beside her and see for yourself."
RICHARD BACH -"Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete... if you're alive, it is'nt."
RIG VEDA -"Only the person having firm conviction and iron volition can attain strength and energy. At no stage of Karma does he ever hesitate."
RONALD REAGAN -"Some may try and tell us that this is the end of an era. But what they overlook is that in America, every day is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage that never ends. For this is the land that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming. Emerson was right: America is the land of tomorrow."
RUKMINI DEVI ARUNDALE -"Animals cannot speak, but can you and i not speat for them and represent them? Let us all feel their silent cry of agony and let us all help that cry to be heard in the world."
SADHU TL VASWANI -"The Angels asked God if there was anything in the world stronger than rocks. "Yes/ answered God; 'stronger than rocks is iron: for iron can break rock/' Anything stronger than iron?" asked the Angels.. And the Lord answered: "Fire: for iron may be melted ill fire/" "Anything stronger than fire?" asked the Angels. And the Lord said: 'Yes, water: for fire is quenched by water" 'Anything stronger than water?" the Angels asked again. And the Lord answered: "Yes, wind: for wind may scatter water/' 'Anything stronger than wind?"' asked the Angels. "Yes;/' said the Lord; "sympathy is stronger. And nothing there be that is stronger than the compassionate heart."
SADHU TL VASWANI -"The doctrine of ahimsa or non-violence is a comprehensive one and emphasises the values of truth, self-restraint, and non-covetousness... No nation is truly free until animals are free and happy."
SENECA -"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
SOREN KIERKEGAARD -"Music exists only in the moments of its performance, for however skilful one may be at reading notes and however lively one's imagination, it cannot be denied that it is only in an unreal sense that the music exists when read. It exists really only when it is performed. This might seem to be an imperfection in this art as compared with the others, whose works constantly endure because they have their existence in the sensual. Yet that is not so. Rather it is a proof that music is a higher, more spiritual art."
SRI RAMAKRISHNA -"In the theatre the audience remains engaged in all kinds of conversation, about home, office and school, till the curtain goes up: but no sooner does it go up than all conversation comes to a stop, and the people watch the play with fixed attention."
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"Before you speak, think - Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it hurt anyone? Will it improve on the silence?"
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"Open the gates of wisdom, tear the veil of ignorance, enter the abode of Divine Bliss. Rest in peace forever. Ego lives by getting and forgetting; Love lives by giving and forgiving; Love is expansion; Self is contraction; Self is lovelessness; Love is selflessness."
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"Service is the highest spiritual discipline. Prayer and meditation, or knowledge of scripture and Vedanta holy scriptures of India), cannot help you reach the goal as quickly as service can. Service has a double effect, it extinguishes the ego and gives bliss."
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"Start the Day with Love; Spend the Day with Love; Fill the Day with Love; End the Day with Love; This is the way to God."
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"The body has to be Utilised for service to others. More bliss can be got from serving others than from merely serving oneself."
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA -"You must be a Lotus, unfolding its petals when the Sun rises in the sky unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!"
SWAMI PARTHASARATHY -"The teacher proceeds from the known to the unknown...We all know that we hear with our ears. But a set of ears on their own are as deaf as a post. Follow the sound vibrations through the eardrums along the nerves. It is the brain which is actually hearing those vibrations. But that is not the end of it. If the Consciousness leaves the brain you won't hear. Even if that Consciousness simply shifts the focus of your brain for a moment, the ears are still transmitting sounds to it as it ticks away but you are deafened... Consciousness is the see-er in the eye, the mind in the mind, the speaker in speech. That, says the teacher, is the source of existence, is God (Brahman). So God is the subject of all you see, hear, smell, touch, taste, feel or understand. Therefore, God can never be an object of perception or comprehension." %3
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
How To Make Homemade Carp Baits Using This Simple Big Fish Recipe!
Not every carp water requires you to spend a fortune on top quality readymade protein baits and even on highly pressured big fish waters you can be very successful using very cheap baits. Many bait making secrets are so simple yet so effective that anyone can instantly use them so here are some more unusual but potent ones that will save you a fortune!
Many carp anglers today seem to be dependant upon readymade baits, from ground baits, pellets, boilies and many other forms. But over a year the costs of your bait can be far more than you would dare imagine especially when you are buying bait piecemeal from fishing shops just before going fishing.
Carp fishing comes at a price because it takes the one commodity no-one can replace and that is time. As we know, time equals money and unfortunately the majority of average anglers are not making money while fishing and they could well spend a lot of time doing it which is just one reason apart from the current economic climate why cutting costs and making good savings is so important!
Readymade bait has become such a booming business ever since the time around 1983 when Richworth first introduced freezers into tackle shops and began to sell frozen readymade baits for the very first time. I remember when I along with many other anglers used these baits and at first they caught so many fish. But of course when too many fish were hooked too many times on a particular flavour the effects were a drop in catches, especially in the numbers of bigger fish and these were very instant-catching concentrated flavour over-dosed baits.
The flavours sure did work though and it is highly significant that now the Richworth range of baits is far more designed with long-term nutrition in mind so the longevity of baits lasts. Over the decades I have been able to use all kinds of readymade baits and base mixes and calculate the costs in reality from using them over long periods of time while testing all kinds of baits and recipes of my own.
Ultimately making your own baits is always a winning option when you want to save money. Making your baits totally unique is no problem either and the number of bait base mixes commercially available is huge. However you need to know a bit about bait and most importantly fish senses in order to truly exploit homemade baits in ways that will most economically out-fish a large range of readymade baits.
This pretty much can mean knowing as much or even about fish senses and baits design in terms of what each ingredients and its components can affect fish in different ways in countless combinations. This takes years of experience to achieve but short-cuts are available in terms of concise specially gathered information drawn from years of testing homemade baits based on fish nutrition papers plus bait design pioneers articles and advice from nutritionists, aquaculture feed designers, biochemists and others.
When I was getting more into making homemade baits in the late Seventies and early Eighties there were a few readymade base mixes available and these were rich in amino acids and other natural feeding triggers especially and were highly successful. Duncan Kay Slyme baits and the famous Black Magic among others were available. Last week I was making a special high protein paste based on various milk and marine proteins with low levels of seedy bird foods and very low levels of 3 flavours containing a tiny amount of solvent base and packed with natural esters.
This bait was a pretty firm paste which I moulded actually around my hair rig just above my boilies just over the hook point to draw more attention to my hook baits. This was also used to obscure the hook to a degree to stop it being seen and to stop chod from obscuring the hook point (instead of using conventional water-soluble PVA foam.) While showing some anglers this homemade paste on the bank during my fishing session last week it occurred to me that it had a very similar smell and taste of one of the early readymade base mixes I had used very successfully 28 years ago. All I did in those days was add water to the mix and many readymade mixes only required this at that time and earlier because they were used as paste baits.
So in a way it has taken me 30 years to replicate in a way a bait that I knew was designed by a very experienced bait maker still during the heyday of bait making pioneers. It might be noted just how many years people like Rod Hutchinson have been making baits not just commercially but for his friends going back well before even the Seventies. I used his readymade base mixes as paste form as the mainstay of my fishing for quite a while but never truly realised the complexity of their design and the potency they had on fish senses and physiology etc.
There are many more people who have reached a very high level of big fish bait making knowledge over the decades. If you look at the Nutrabaits recipe the their Big Fish Mix designed by Richard Skidmore, or get to know a bit about the early fishmeal baits boosted with predigested fish proteins from Premier baits, find out the truth about the background behind the Nutrabaits Hi-Nu-Val milk protein mix and so on, you begin to see a picture emerging of what sticks out in many decades-proven big fish bait recipes.
Whether you are a highly skilled and experienced carp angler who can leverage instant over-flavoured baits all day long, or a less experienced newer angler wanting to establish a balanced nutritional value food type bait on a water it matter not. The principles of bait making are the same because vital details in regards to the workings and exploitation of fish senses by particular bait components used in combination are very well known now.
But science certainly has not discovered everything and it cannot even totally accurately work out the actual biological value of 2 foods when consumed at the same time by a human. This is an extremely complex area and despite all kinds of refined and re-defined specialist measure used to determine conversion whether in regards to lysine in protein as the most limiting factor or simply measuring mass gains in fish as a result of test foods, things are still not accurate enough.
To me this just shows you do not have to be a PhD marine biologist nutritionist in order to make baits that work. You have very progressive guys such as those at Vision Baits, Future Baits, Sticky Baits and a host of others, who are making the range of trustworthy readymade baits even more diverse and in a very competitive market But there is loads of room for any individual angler to exploit all kinds of information to do their own homemade thing with bait in order to cut costs.
You might say there are many very well proven principles in terms of bait design and if you do not know these then how can you possibly make a successful homemade bait. But even if you do not know what some of these are just remember that everyone has certain gaps in their knowledge which can always offer further advantages to their baits. Well over all your homemade baits will catch fish; it is in developing the experience and the skills in designing baits that will tempt the big ones consistently that takes far more personal input but inevitably pays you back big-time!
Literally no-one knows it all because bait design is a dynamite evolutionary process of feedback. It may be noticed that certain aspects of bait substances are very successful and yet scientifically speaking no bait boss that I have spoken with can explain this success scientifically accurately and speculation is all that is offered. It may be said that scientific absolutes in carp bait making do exist, but at the same time these kind of rules as it were can be bent or even broken!
Fish are reactively learning beings whose strongest instinct is for survival. If they do not want to eat you perfectly round standard sized boilies, or you cannot catch big fish on various very popular pellets there are obvious reasons why not and less well known ones too. These reasons can all be part of your armoury in making your own baits totally unique so carp have literally never experienced you bait before and will have most the confidence in actually consuming it. Of course one of the greatest strategies in carp fishing is to pre-bait. Big numbers of high profile anglers do this all the time using shocking amounts of bait, )especially boilies which are so resilient and build-up in effects over time.) But not too many of us have the time nor resources nor inclination to bait up a water for as long as 3 months without even wetting a line in order to guarantee multiple big fish success.
Fishing baits such as boilies vary widely in just how strongly they induce various feeding modes in carp as soon as they first enter the water. With some baits fish will be pulled in from a large area and with feed very intensively immediately. Other baits pull fish in more gradually and induce a more leisurely almost lazy feeding behaviour that can last for hours. Many other responses can occur and often with all kinds of homemade and readymade baits you see fish unwilling to leave a baited area, only leaving to bring back their friends which is great to watch as you imagine.
Of course it may be that you do not even see a single fish nr even get a single liner at some waters during some sessions, just getting a hittable couple of bleeps or a screaming run right our of the blue. Confidence in your free baiting is a vitally important aspect in catching more fish as is far more of a delicate skill that the majority of anglers realise. The key in many ways is to sustain the levels of triggers and attractors in the water column to maintain favourably enthusiastic feeding behaviours that induce fish to pick up you hook baits more times than usual so they make more mistakes, get hooked more and produce more caught fish.
Now for the money-saving bit! Yes you certainly can make a bait for just a couple of pounds but why not make a control bait first to measure and test your experimental baits against? This is a critical point because feedback is priceless in learning as fast as possible and you will always learn more by actually catching fish as opposed to not catching them! Bait that is not catching fish is wasted bait! This even applies to baits that pull fish really well into your swim but do not end up with you actually hooking fish successfully; they must work all the way to banked fish! With a control bait, as your bait-making knowledge and skills in choosing ingredients and so on improves, your confidence will always be high (and rightly so.)
This is because you will always have a proven and reliable homemade control bait or a range of them that will keep on catching in all fishing situations all year round. True you can use a readymade bait as a control bait but this will not give you confidence in making your own baits and totally defeats the object of guaranteeing your baits are your own and will enable you to control every aspect about your fishing baits literally for life including all costs - in advance! Many years I have totalled-up the cost of all the ready baits compared to the costs of my homemade baits and noticed I had much more awareness and control over my costs in regards to homemade baits where I have justified every single ingredient, additives, liquid, extract, enhancer, palatant etc etc.
Hook baits really do work when super-boosted and so hook baits are the thing you can focus your attention on when saving money. You can free bait with all kinds of cheap bait materials boosted with some choice more expensive ones. Pop-up baits are very successful although I do most of my fishing using critically-balanced and bottom baits. The main this is to negate the weight of your hook. The easiest thing to do is to begin with a readymade pop-up mix from a reputable company.
You might add high or low levels of betaine or betaine HCL, from 1 or 4 grams or more per kilogram of base mix, or simply add none (adding it is best!). You might add a powdered palatant and fruit or fish or diary enhancers, or add none. You might add an amino acid complex or something similar, or add none. You might use flavoured oils, essential oils, an intense sweetener, or a flavour, or add none.
You might just add a very potent powdered extract very rich in natural nutritional triggers, or add none but I certainly do recommend it. Perhaps you want to dye your bait green or red or black or white or coat it in a fluorescent gel to draw more attention to baits in turbid waters or night. (Note, much of the time, fish are feeding actively in turbid water clouded by their own activities!)
Here is just a sample of a recipe something of the like you might wish to try:
800 grams of Ccmoore fish meal pop-up mix. 10 grams of Ccmoore de-fatted green-lipped mussel extract. 5 grams of Lactose B Plus Concentrate. 5 grams of pure betaine.
You could also add instead 200 grams of whatever alternative base mix or other ingredients etc you wish. You could add Ccmoore Feedstim XP powder or Ccmoore squid liver extract powder for example, or spirulina powder for instance to make you bait green and less easy for nuisance birds to spot. The options are endless for differentiating and adapting your baits for special effects and fishing situations to keep ahead of the fish and other competing baits in dynamic ways!
Flavours are a big issue for many anglers. Some are far more productive than others. I have been doing very well using a 50:50 mixture of Ccmoore crab Essence and their Frankfurter Essence for example. This is all just a very simple introduction but will most certainly catch you big fish! For masses more information on making quality cheap carp baits and addictive baits see my biography or visit my unique bait secrets ebooks site Baitbigfish now!
By Tim Richardson.
About the Author
Now why not seize this moment to improve your catches for life with these unique fishing bibles: "BIG CARP FLAVOURS FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CARP SENSES EXPLOITATION SECRETS!" "BIG CARP AND CATFISH BAIT SECRETS!" And "BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!" For these and much more now visit: http://www.baitbigfish.com Home of world-wide proven readymade and homemade bait success secrets bibles!
Many carp anglers today seem to be dependant upon readymade baits, from ground baits, pellets, boilies and many other forms. But over a year the costs of your bait can be far more than you would dare imagine especially when you are buying bait piecemeal from fishing shops just before going fishing.
Carp fishing comes at a price because it takes the one commodity no-one can replace and that is time. As we know, time equals money and unfortunately the majority of average anglers are not making money while fishing and they could well spend a lot of time doing it which is just one reason apart from the current economic climate why cutting costs and making good savings is so important!
Readymade bait has become such a booming business ever since the time around 1983 when Richworth first introduced freezers into tackle shops and began to sell frozen readymade baits for the very first time. I remember when I along with many other anglers used these baits and at first they caught so many fish. But of course when too many fish were hooked too many times on a particular flavour the effects were a drop in catches, especially in the numbers of bigger fish and these were very instant-catching concentrated flavour over-dosed baits.
The flavours sure did work though and it is highly significant that now the Richworth range of baits is far more designed with long-term nutrition in mind so the longevity of baits lasts. Over the decades I have been able to use all kinds of readymade baits and base mixes and calculate the costs in reality from using them over long periods of time while testing all kinds of baits and recipes of my own.
Ultimately making your own baits is always a winning option when you want to save money. Making your baits totally unique is no problem either and the number of bait base mixes commercially available is huge. However you need to know a bit about bait and most importantly fish senses in order to truly exploit homemade baits in ways that will most economically out-fish a large range of readymade baits.
This pretty much can mean knowing as much or even about fish senses and baits design in terms of what each ingredients and its components can affect fish in different ways in countless combinations. This takes years of experience to achieve but short-cuts are available in terms of concise specially gathered information drawn from years of testing homemade baits based on fish nutrition papers plus bait design pioneers articles and advice from nutritionists, aquaculture feed designers, biochemists and others.
When I was getting more into making homemade baits in the late Seventies and early Eighties there were a few readymade base mixes available and these were rich in amino acids and other natural feeding triggers especially and were highly successful. Duncan Kay Slyme baits and the famous Black Magic among others were available. Last week I was making a special high protein paste based on various milk and marine proteins with low levels of seedy bird foods and very low levels of 3 flavours containing a tiny amount of solvent base and packed with natural esters.
This bait was a pretty firm paste which I moulded actually around my hair rig just above my boilies just over the hook point to draw more attention to my hook baits. This was also used to obscure the hook to a degree to stop it being seen and to stop chod from obscuring the hook point (instead of using conventional water-soluble PVA foam.) While showing some anglers this homemade paste on the bank during my fishing session last week it occurred to me that it had a very similar smell and taste of one of the early readymade base mixes I had used very successfully 28 years ago. All I did in those days was add water to the mix and many readymade mixes only required this at that time and earlier because they were used as paste baits.
So in a way it has taken me 30 years to replicate in a way a bait that I knew was designed by a very experienced bait maker still during the heyday of bait making pioneers. It might be noted just how many years people like Rod Hutchinson have been making baits not just commercially but for his friends going back well before even the Seventies. I used his readymade base mixes as paste form as the mainstay of my fishing for quite a while but never truly realised the complexity of their design and the potency they had on fish senses and physiology etc.
There are many more people who have reached a very high level of big fish bait making knowledge over the decades. If you look at the Nutrabaits recipe the their Big Fish Mix designed by Richard Skidmore, or get to know a bit about the early fishmeal baits boosted with predigested fish proteins from Premier baits, find out the truth about the background behind the Nutrabaits Hi-Nu-Val milk protein mix and so on, you begin to see a picture emerging of what sticks out in many decades-proven big fish bait recipes.
Whether you are a highly skilled and experienced carp angler who can leverage instant over-flavoured baits all day long, or a less experienced newer angler wanting to establish a balanced nutritional value food type bait on a water it matter not. The principles of bait making are the same because vital details in regards to the workings and exploitation of fish senses by particular bait components used in combination are very well known now.
But science certainly has not discovered everything and it cannot even totally accurately work out the actual biological value of 2 foods when consumed at the same time by a human. This is an extremely complex area and despite all kinds of refined and re-defined specialist measure used to determine conversion whether in regards to lysine in protein as the most limiting factor or simply measuring mass gains in fish as a result of test foods, things are still not accurate enough.
To me this just shows you do not have to be a PhD marine biologist nutritionist in order to make baits that work. You have very progressive guys such as those at Vision Baits, Future Baits, Sticky Baits and a host of others, who are making the range of trustworthy readymade baits even more diverse and in a very competitive market But there is loads of room for any individual angler to exploit all kinds of information to do their own homemade thing with bait in order to cut costs.
You might say there are many very well proven principles in terms of bait design and if you do not know these then how can you possibly make a successful homemade bait. But even if you do not know what some of these are just remember that everyone has certain gaps in their knowledge which can always offer further advantages to their baits. Well over all your homemade baits will catch fish; it is in developing the experience and the skills in designing baits that will tempt the big ones consistently that takes far more personal input but inevitably pays you back big-time!
Literally no-one knows it all because bait design is a dynamite evolutionary process of feedback. It may be noticed that certain aspects of bait substances are very successful and yet scientifically speaking no bait boss that I have spoken with can explain this success scientifically accurately and speculation is all that is offered. It may be said that scientific absolutes in carp bait making do exist, but at the same time these kind of rules as it were can be bent or even broken!
Fish are reactively learning beings whose strongest instinct is for survival. If they do not want to eat you perfectly round standard sized boilies, or you cannot catch big fish on various very popular pellets there are obvious reasons why not and less well known ones too. These reasons can all be part of your armoury in making your own baits totally unique so carp have literally never experienced you bait before and will have most the confidence in actually consuming it. Of course one of the greatest strategies in carp fishing is to pre-bait. Big numbers of high profile anglers do this all the time using shocking amounts of bait, )especially boilies which are so resilient and build-up in effects over time.) But not too many of us have the time nor resources nor inclination to bait up a water for as long as 3 months without even wetting a line in order to guarantee multiple big fish success.
Fishing baits such as boilies vary widely in just how strongly they induce various feeding modes in carp as soon as they first enter the water. With some baits fish will be pulled in from a large area and with feed very intensively immediately. Other baits pull fish in more gradually and induce a more leisurely almost lazy feeding behaviour that can last for hours. Many other responses can occur and often with all kinds of homemade and readymade baits you see fish unwilling to leave a baited area, only leaving to bring back their friends which is great to watch as you imagine.
Of course it may be that you do not even see a single fish nr even get a single liner at some waters during some sessions, just getting a hittable couple of bleeps or a screaming run right our of the blue. Confidence in your free baiting is a vitally important aspect in catching more fish as is far more of a delicate skill that the majority of anglers realise. The key in many ways is to sustain the levels of triggers and attractors in the water column to maintain favourably enthusiastic feeding behaviours that induce fish to pick up you hook baits more times than usual so they make more mistakes, get hooked more and produce more caught fish.
Now for the money-saving bit! Yes you certainly can make a bait for just a couple of pounds but why not make a control bait first to measure and test your experimental baits against? This is a critical point because feedback is priceless in learning as fast as possible and you will always learn more by actually catching fish as opposed to not catching them! Bait that is not catching fish is wasted bait! This even applies to baits that pull fish really well into your swim but do not end up with you actually hooking fish successfully; they must work all the way to banked fish! With a control bait, as your bait-making knowledge and skills in choosing ingredients and so on improves, your confidence will always be high (and rightly so.)
This is because you will always have a proven and reliable homemade control bait or a range of them that will keep on catching in all fishing situations all year round. True you can use a readymade bait as a control bait but this will not give you confidence in making your own baits and totally defeats the object of guaranteeing your baits are your own and will enable you to control every aspect about your fishing baits literally for life including all costs - in advance! Many years I have totalled-up the cost of all the ready baits compared to the costs of my homemade baits and noticed I had much more awareness and control over my costs in regards to homemade baits where I have justified every single ingredient, additives, liquid, extract, enhancer, palatant etc etc.
Hook baits really do work when super-boosted and so hook baits are the thing you can focus your attention on when saving money. You can free bait with all kinds of cheap bait materials boosted with some choice more expensive ones. Pop-up baits are very successful although I do most of my fishing using critically-balanced and bottom baits. The main this is to negate the weight of your hook. The easiest thing to do is to begin with a readymade pop-up mix from a reputable company.
You might add high or low levels of betaine or betaine HCL, from 1 or 4 grams or more per kilogram of base mix, or simply add none (adding it is best!). You might add a powdered palatant and fruit or fish or diary enhancers, or add none. You might add an amino acid complex or something similar, or add none. You might use flavoured oils, essential oils, an intense sweetener, or a flavour, or add none.
You might just add a very potent powdered extract very rich in natural nutritional triggers, or add none but I certainly do recommend it. Perhaps you want to dye your bait green or red or black or white or coat it in a fluorescent gel to draw more attention to baits in turbid waters or night. (Note, much of the time, fish are feeding actively in turbid water clouded by their own activities!)
Here is just a sample of a recipe something of the like you might wish to try:
800 grams of Ccmoore fish meal pop-up mix. 10 grams of Ccmoore de-fatted green-lipped mussel extract. 5 grams of Lactose B Plus Concentrate. 5 grams of pure betaine.
You could also add instead 200 grams of whatever alternative base mix or other ingredients etc you wish. You could add Ccmoore Feedstim XP powder or Ccmoore squid liver extract powder for example, or spirulina powder for instance to make you bait green and less easy for nuisance birds to spot. The options are endless for differentiating and adapting your baits for special effects and fishing situations to keep ahead of the fish and other competing baits in dynamic ways!
Flavours are a big issue for many anglers. Some are far more productive than others. I have been doing very well using a 50:50 mixture of Ccmoore crab Essence and their Frankfurter Essence for example. This is all just a very simple introduction but will most certainly catch you big fish! For masses more information on making quality cheap carp baits and addictive baits see my biography or visit my unique bait secrets ebooks site Baitbigfish now!
By Tim Richardson.
About the Author
Now why not seize this moment to improve your catches for life with these unique fishing bibles: "BIG CARP FLAVOURS FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CARP SENSES EXPLOITATION SECRETS!" "BIG CARP AND CATFISH BAIT SECRETS!" And "BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!" For these and much more now visit: http://www.baitbigfish.com Home of world-wide proven readymade and homemade bait success secrets bibles!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Herd Mentality - is Human Behaviour Accounted for in Your Strategy?
The way that many businesses and marketers strategise is perhaps counterintuitive. One important variable is frequently overlooked. This is the behaviour of people. Would it not make sense if human behaviour were to shape the formulation and execution of strategy? Surely, this is a sure-fire way to create strategies that are more robust and destined for success.
Mark Earls, an expert in human behaviour, communications and strategic thinking has explored the link between human behaviour and successful and effective strategies probably more than anyone. He is the award-winning author of several books on the subject including Herd - How to change mass behaviour by harnessing our true nature.
This book challenges our received wisdom about mass behaviour and develops an alternative model rooted in our ‘herd’ nature. Earls proposes that each individual does what they do largely because of what other people do or don’t do (even if our brain tells us other wise). In fact Mark Earls turns the idea of thinking then doing on its head and argues that people actually act and then think about it later. He would also argue that there’s not much point in spending too much time, energy or money asking people why they do what they do because, quite simply, they don’t actually know.
We like to think that we make individual decisions and that we choose our own behaviour. However, the truth is that most of the time we are heavily influenced by the behaviour of those around us. It is a herd mentality.
Mark Earls’ approach to human behaviour and strategy is completely fresh and turns conventional wisdom about what works and what doesn’t totally upside down. He has some new ideas on human behaviour, an example of which can be seen in an eBook entitled Understanding How Behaviour Shapes Strategy.
In this work - Mark Earls poses three questions which should alter the way you look at your business planning and which will hopefully develop the way you strategise. These three questions are as follows:
What is the relationship between attitudes and behaviour?
How do new ideas and habits get formed?
How do you create momentum that equates to real and lasting change?
Finding the answers to these questions you will clearly see how strategy only works if it changes people's behaviour. Whether you are dealing with staff, customers, investors or others, you first have to understand how people work and how new ideas catch on to appreciate what makes for successful business strategies.
Mark Earls, an expert in human behaviour, communications and strategic thinking has explored the link between human behaviour and successful and effective strategies probably more than anyone. He is the award-winning author of several books on the subject including Herd - How to change mass behaviour by harnessing our true nature.
This book challenges our received wisdom about mass behaviour and develops an alternative model rooted in our ‘herd’ nature. Earls proposes that each individual does what they do largely because of what other people do or don’t do (even if our brain tells us other wise). In fact Mark Earls turns the idea of thinking then doing on its head and argues that people actually act and then think about it later. He would also argue that there’s not much point in spending too much time, energy or money asking people why they do what they do because, quite simply, they don’t actually know.
We like to think that we make individual decisions and that we choose our own behaviour. However, the truth is that most of the time we are heavily influenced by the behaviour of those around us. It is a herd mentality.
Mark Earls’ approach to human behaviour and strategy is completely fresh and turns conventional wisdom about what works and what doesn’t totally upside down. He has some new ideas on human behaviour, an example of which can be seen in an eBook entitled Understanding How Behaviour Shapes Strategy.
In this work - Mark Earls poses three questions which should alter the way you look at your business planning and which will hopefully develop the way you strategise. These three questions are as follows:
What is the relationship between attitudes and behaviour?
How do new ideas and habits get formed?
How do you create momentum that equates to real and lasting change?
Finding the answers to these questions you will clearly see how strategy only works if it changes people's behaviour. Whether you are dealing with staff, customers, investors or others, you first have to understand how people work and how new ideas catch on to appreciate what makes for successful business strategies.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Smart Way To Stop Puppy Biting Behavior
Bringing home a new puppy is always an enjoyable time. One of the first challenges to the thrill of the new puppy, is curtailing unseemly puppy behaviors. Stopping biting and mouthing is a typical activity for many young puppies and dogs. A puppy will naturally bite and mouth one another while playing with brothers, and they extend this behavior to their human companions.
The 1st part of training your puppy behaviour is to slow down the biting reflex. Biting could be lovable and safe with a five pound puppy, but it is neither lovable nor safe when that dog has grown to adulthood.
Therefore it's up to the humans in the baby dog's life to teach this lesson. If one puppy becomes too rough while playing, the remainder of the group will punish him for that their behavior. Thru this sort of socialization, the little puppy will learn how to control his biting reflex. Puppies that are permitted to play with other puppies learn significant socialization abilities and learn how to become better members of their human family. In addition, absence of socialization in puppies frequently causes fearful and assertive behaviors to develop.
Dogs frequently react aggressively to new scenarios, particularly if they don't seem to be correctly socialised. In order for a dog to become a member of the community as well as the household, it should be socialized to people, particularly youngsters. Dogs draw a difference between their owners and others, and between youngsters and adults. It's important to introduce the dog to both youngsters and adults. The best time to socialise a puppy to small children is when it is still terribly young, often when it is 4 months old or younger. This is particularly true with the larger breed dogs, or with breeds of dogs with a reputation for assertive behavior.
Using trust to stop biting teaches your young puppy to trust and respect. Gaining the trust and respect of your dog is the basis for all dog coaching, and for correcting problem behaviors.
It's important to never hit or slap a young puppy, either during coaching or any other time. Physical punishment is the most sure way to wear away the trust and respect that must form the root of a useful training program. Coaching a puppy not to bite is a urgent part of any puppy training program. Biting behaviors that are not corrected will only deterioriate, and what once looked like safe behavior in a puppy can quickly escalate to perilous, destructive behavior in an adult dog. Take a look at Sit Stay Fetch.. It's the ultimate resource for the intelligent dog owner, and it covers just about every subject pertaining to the care of your beloved dog that you'll ever need to know about.
The 1st part of training your puppy behaviour is to slow down the biting reflex. Biting could be lovable and safe with a five pound puppy, but it is neither lovable nor safe when that dog has grown to adulthood.
Therefore it's up to the humans in the baby dog's life to teach this lesson. If one puppy becomes too rough while playing, the remainder of the group will punish him for that their behavior. Thru this sort of socialization, the little puppy will learn how to control his biting reflex. Puppies that are permitted to play with other puppies learn significant socialization abilities and learn how to become better members of their human family. In addition, absence of socialization in puppies frequently causes fearful and assertive behaviors to develop.
Dogs frequently react aggressively to new scenarios, particularly if they don't seem to be correctly socialised. In order for a dog to become a member of the community as well as the household, it should be socialized to people, particularly youngsters. Dogs draw a difference between their owners and others, and between youngsters and adults. It's important to introduce the dog to both youngsters and adults. The best time to socialise a puppy to small children is when it is still terribly young, often when it is 4 months old or younger. This is particularly true with the larger breed dogs, or with breeds of dogs with a reputation for assertive behavior.
Using trust to stop biting teaches your young puppy to trust and respect. Gaining the trust and respect of your dog is the basis for all dog coaching, and for correcting problem behaviors.
It's important to never hit or slap a young puppy, either during coaching or any other time. Physical punishment is the most sure way to wear away the trust and respect that must form the root of a useful training program. Coaching a puppy not to bite is a urgent part of any puppy training program. Biting behaviors that are not corrected will only deterioriate, and what once looked like safe behavior in a puppy can quickly escalate to perilous, destructive behavior in an adult dog. Take a look at Sit Stay Fetch.. It's the ultimate resource for the intelligent dog owner, and it covers just about every subject pertaining to the care of your beloved dog that you'll ever need to know about.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Recruiters are Human Too!
Humans are animals and animal behaviour is hard wired and mostly predictable. One behaviour in particular:
People always choose the easiest way to get what they need. Which doesn’t mean our needs can’t be complex or irrational or altruistic. Just that given a choice we always choose the easiest path.
Now job seekers who have had 40 unreturned phone calls would argue, but recruiters are human beings. They will find and choose the easiest path to make the money to feed their kids and to support their favourite charity.
The point of this Rant is to look at the way most employers work with recruiters: They brief 3 recruiters for the same job.
What the recruiters then do is totally predictable: All 3 focus on the low hanging fruit, the active job seekers who are doing the rounds of recruiters and applying to ALL the online job ads. They are easy to find, and each firm races to put ads up so they can find them first. The screening can be quite perfunctory as the race is to get their resumes in first.
Why is it predictable that they do this? They are all on contingent fees, so get your agency brand onto the person who is hired and it is $20000, lose the race and it’s a big fat nothing.
That’s the first hard wired, predictable behaviour. The second is the bit that seems to baffle many employers and HR managers.
None of the 3 recruiters will invest the 3 to 4 days of hard work to dig out some high hanging, quality fruit as they have only about a 20% chance of getting paid for their efforts.
Why just 20%? Because after a week of talking to candidates, other agencies have heard of the role, and they have talked to some other low hangers. And because there is sometimes an internal candidate who gets the job or perhaps the position is restructured.
As pointed out in last week’s Rant, any experienced recruiter can dig out candidates if they put the time in. Predictably they won’t bother if you brief more than one firm. Would you in their shoes? Employers think they are ‘testing the full market’ or ‘keeping the recruiters honest’.
No. Just predictably not getting value. And wasting a lot of their time looking at candidates who only barely match the brief but have been put forward because the agency wants that $20000.
People always choose the easiest way to get what they need. Which doesn’t mean our needs can’t be complex or irrational or altruistic. Just that given a choice we always choose the easiest path.
Now job seekers who have had 40 unreturned phone calls would argue, but recruiters are human beings. They will find and choose the easiest path to make the money to feed their kids and to support their favourite charity.
The point of this Rant is to look at the way most employers work with recruiters: They brief 3 recruiters for the same job.
What the recruiters then do is totally predictable: All 3 focus on the low hanging fruit, the active job seekers who are doing the rounds of recruiters and applying to ALL the online job ads. They are easy to find, and each firm races to put ads up so they can find them first. The screening can be quite perfunctory as the race is to get their resumes in first.
Why is it predictable that they do this? They are all on contingent fees, so get your agency brand onto the person who is hired and it is $20000, lose the race and it’s a big fat nothing.
That’s the first hard wired, predictable behaviour. The second is the bit that seems to baffle many employers and HR managers.
None of the 3 recruiters will invest the 3 to 4 days of hard work to dig out some high hanging, quality fruit as they have only about a 20% chance of getting paid for their efforts.
Why just 20%? Because after a week of talking to candidates, other agencies have heard of the role, and they have talked to some other low hangers. And because there is sometimes an internal candidate who gets the job or perhaps the position is restructured.
As pointed out in last week’s Rant, any experienced recruiter can dig out candidates if they put the time in. Predictably they won’t bother if you brief more than one firm. Would you in their shoes? Employers think they are ‘testing the full market’ or ‘keeping the recruiters honest’.
No. Just predictably not getting value. And wasting a lot of their time looking at candidates who only barely match the brief but have been put forward because the agency wants that $20000.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mummy Tantrums
Last Tuesday morning between 8 and 9 a.m. was not my proudest hour. In fact it serves as an excellent example of the sort of uptight, stressed pickle working mums often get ourselves into. It was the sort of morning where I didn't get my own balance right, to say the least, and instead I ended up acting a bit like my two year old son Freddie when he doesn't get his own way. Yes, I had a full blown Mummy Tantrum.
I know that I'm not the first mum to have a morning like this so I'm taking a deep breath to share the whole sorry tale with you. I hope that by being upfront about my own experience, it could help you if you ever throw Mummy Tantrums yourself.
And so, the story begins. The boys and I ended up leaving the house late last Tuesday morning, so Max was ten minutes late for his holiday club football. My working day started at 9.15am instead of 9.05am as planned. Ten minutes later really isn't a big deal is it?! Who would have thought that starting the day 10 minutes late would cause such trauma?
My heart was beating fast, my adrenaline racing around at 8.30am. I took it out on Max, when, at 8.45am he said "Where's my tracksuit top?", followed by "Can I wear my new shoes?" and "I don't know where my trainers are".
I blew. I really blew. Mount Etna had nothing on me. I shouted at him, "You are old enough to make sure you've got your tracksuit top. I'm not your servant" and "find your own shoes. No, you can't wear your new walking boots. It's not fair! You should be ready to go!" I grudgingly found his trainers for him and threw them on the floor in front of him, slammed a couple of doors and sat in the car with the engine running and a face like thunder whilst I waited for him to put his trainers and his shin guards on. In short, I did a fair imitation of Freddie in one of his tantrums. Ok, so I didn't lie down on the floor thrashing my arms and legs around and screaming at the top of my voice, but I threw my own grown-up version of a toddler tantrum.
Poor Max - my little helper, my Freddie-tamer, my patient, thoughtful, kind and funny seven year old - copped for it.
Clearly, being a coach doesn't make me superhuman or perfect mummy. However, it does allow me to ask myself useful questions so that I can reach a better balance in future. Once I'd emerged from my tantrum, I asked myself:
What were the clues and warning signs this morning that I didn't notice?
After some reflection time, here are clues and warnings that I didn't take notice of at the time:
I hadn't had enough sleep (only 6 ½ hours... I need a minimum of 8).
Freddie has entered the "terrible twos" with relish over the past couple of weeks, and has been testing his newfound theory of "I'm a separate human being from you and I want to do what I want to do and it's mine, all mine, everything is mine HA HA HA!" at every opportunity. As a result, my calm and patient parental reserves are low.
I started weeping at the news on the radio that a media personality, Clement Freud, had died, aged 84. What's that about then? Hmmmm, I'm not usually this emotionally volatile. Anyone suspecting that it could have been that time of the month?
I tried to do it all that Tuesday morning:
Tidy the house
Make all the beds
Make Max's packed lunch
Do 10 mins. of yoga (Ha! That clearly didn't help, did it?!)
Made porridge for the three of us
Cleaned the porridge pan (after having burnt the porridge)
Arranged an appointment
The lesson that I learned from last week's Mummy Tantrum can be summarised in one word: RESERVES.
If you read over my self-reflection answers above, you might notice that there is a theme running through: I hadn't created enough reserves for myself.
A reserve is exactly what it implies: Something left over as spare. For example, we might have a reserve of cash that we keep in our car in case of emergency. We might have a reserve of food in the freezer or in the kitchen cupboard for those times when we might not have fresh food available for a quick meal.
In my case, and I know these are absolutely typical neglected reserves for most mums, I had run low on reserves of:
Energy
Sleep
Time
Health
Support
So, what could I do about this? Again, here are my inner ramblings. Having identified the triggers, I looked at what the corresponding low reserves might have been:
Sleep Well, the sleep is easy enough - make sure I get 8 hours tonight!
Health What about health? The hay fever gets me down every year at this time (interestingly enough, a less welcome legacy of becoming a mum 7 years ago!) and I find that it has a dramatically negative knock on effect to my energy. I've investigated an alternative treatment (Bowen Technique) and I'm waiting for confirmation of an appointment. A little too late to prevent the hay fever this year, but I can set a reminder for myself in February every year to start treatment, thus creating a health and an energy reserve for spring in future years.
Energy From today's episode, clearly there are times (!) when I'm a bit emotionally volatile, so I could mark this time in my diary as well, to act as a reminder in future, so that I can take steps to make sure that I'm rested and give myself more space.
Time I thought I'd done well by putting my clothes out and Max's lunch box out the night before, but I'd forgotten to get him to check he had everything he needed for football. All I need to do is a simple time tracking exercise and face up to just how long it takes to get the three of us launched in the morning, and allow myself 10 minutes reserve of time to allow for lost trainers, forgotten tops, missing Doggily etc, etc!
Support I always cope well on the outside with challenging behaviour from my kids, but clearly the classic toddler boundary-pushing behaviour is getting to me! I'm going to email mum and ask her to send me some reassuring "don't worry, it won't last forever, you'll cope, I remember this" type words about coping with the demands of a two year old!
The purpose of me wearing my heart on my sleeve and writing about my very flawed and very imperfect morning is to prompt you into thinking about the times when you have run low on reserves.
Coach Yourself on Mummy Tantrums and Build Your Reserves
Have you ever had a mummy tantrum? Whether you have or you haven't, the point of this article is to show you how important it is for you to create reserves in your life.
Grab a pen and paper and ponder on the following 7 questions:
What are the general causes of your mummy tantrums? What happened during your mummy tantrum(s)?
What did you learn from your last mummy tantrum?
What didn't you learn? In other words, what is the same mistake that you keep on repeating?
When will you say "enough is enough" about this and try a different approach for this mistake?
What reserves were you running low on at the time of your mummy tantrum? List them …
What can you do to create super-reserves in the future?
What will you do today to create one of those reserves?
By taking a little time to identify where you are low on reserves, you will identify triggers and come up with new ideas that will certainly be invisible to you when you are in mid-tantrum.
Happy tantrum taming!
Amanda x
About the Author
Amanda Alexander - Professional Coach supporting women in the UK/Europe/America to achieve much more than they thought possible.
About Coaching Mums: Would you like more time and lightness, with less stress and guilt in your life? Visit Coaching Mums for fabulous free coaching tips, especially for mothers. Receive our popular free monthly ezine, "Inspire" - Mums Who Want Success, Fulfilment and Balance.
I know that I'm not the first mum to have a morning like this so I'm taking a deep breath to share the whole sorry tale with you. I hope that by being upfront about my own experience, it could help you if you ever throw Mummy Tantrums yourself.
And so, the story begins. The boys and I ended up leaving the house late last Tuesday morning, so Max was ten minutes late for his holiday club football. My working day started at 9.15am instead of 9.05am as planned. Ten minutes later really isn't a big deal is it?! Who would have thought that starting the day 10 minutes late would cause such trauma?
My heart was beating fast, my adrenaline racing around at 8.30am. I took it out on Max, when, at 8.45am he said "Where's my tracksuit top?", followed by "Can I wear my new shoes?" and "I don't know where my trainers are".
I blew. I really blew. Mount Etna had nothing on me. I shouted at him, "You are old enough to make sure you've got your tracksuit top. I'm not your servant" and "find your own shoes. No, you can't wear your new walking boots. It's not fair! You should be ready to go!" I grudgingly found his trainers for him and threw them on the floor in front of him, slammed a couple of doors and sat in the car with the engine running and a face like thunder whilst I waited for him to put his trainers and his shin guards on. In short, I did a fair imitation of Freddie in one of his tantrums. Ok, so I didn't lie down on the floor thrashing my arms and legs around and screaming at the top of my voice, but I threw my own grown-up version of a toddler tantrum.
Poor Max - my little helper, my Freddie-tamer, my patient, thoughtful, kind and funny seven year old - copped for it.
Clearly, being a coach doesn't make me superhuman or perfect mummy. However, it does allow me to ask myself useful questions so that I can reach a better balance in future. Once I'd emerged from my tantrum, I asked myself:
What were the clues and warning signs this morning that I didn't notice?
After some reflection time, here are clues and warnings that I didn't take notice of at the time:
I hadn't had enough sleep (only 6 ½ hours... I need a minimum of 8).
Freddie has entered the "terrible twos" with relish over the past couple of weeks, and has been testing his newfound theory of "I'm a separate human being from you and I want to do what I want to do and it's mine, all mine, everything is mine HA HA HA!" at every opportunity. As a result, my calm and patient parental reserves are low.
I started weeping at the news on the radio that a media personality, Clement Freud, had died, aged 84. What's that about then? Hmmmm, I'm not usually this emotionally volatile. Anyone suspecting that it could have been that time of the month?
I tried to do it all that Tuesday morning:
Tidy the house
Make all the beds
Make Max's packed lunch
Do 10 mins. of yoga (Ha! That clearly didn't help, did it?!)
Made porridge for the three of us
Cleaned the porridge pan (after having burnt the porridge)
Arranged an appointment
The lesson that I learned from last week's Mummy Tantrum can be summarised in one word: RESERVES.
If you read over my self-reflection answers above, you might notice that there is a theme running through: I hadn't created enough reserves for myself.
A reserve is exactly what it implies: Something left over as spare. For example, we might have a reserve of cash that we keep in our car in case of emergency. We might have a reserve of food in the freezer or in the kitchen cupboard for those times when we might not have fresh food available for a quick meal.
In my case, and I know these are absolutely typical neglected reserves for most mums, I had run low on reserves of:
Energy
Sleep
Time
Health
Support
So, what could I do about this? Again, here are my inner ramblings. Having identified the triggers, I looked at what the corresponding low reserves might have been:
Sleep Well, the sleep is easy enough - make sure I get 8 hours tonight!
Health What about health? The hay fever gets me down every year at this time (interestingly enough, a less welcome legacy of becoming a mum 7 years ago!) and I find that it has a dramatically negative knock on effect to my energy. I've investigated an alternative treatment (Bowen Technique) and I'm waiting for confirmation of an appointment. A little too late to prevent the hay fever this year, but I can set a reminder for myself in February every year to start treatment, thus creating a health and an energy reserve for spring in future years.
Energy From today's episode, clearly there are times (!) when I'm a bit emotionally volatile, so I could mark this time in my diary as well, to act as a reminder in future, so that I can take steps to make sure that I'm rested and give myself more space.
Time I thought I'd done well by putting my clothes out and Max's lunch box out the night before, but I'd forgotten to get him to check he had everything he needed for football. All I need to do is a simple time tracking exercise and face up to just how long it takes to get the three of us launched in the morning, and allow myself 10 minutes reserve of time to allow for lost trainers, forgotten tops, missing Doggily etc, etc!
Support I always cope well on the outside with challenging behaviour from my kids, but clearly the classic toddler boundary-pushing behaviour is getting to me! I'm going to email mum and ask her to send me some reassuring "don't worry, it won't last forever, you'll cope, I remember this" type words about coping with the demands of a two year old!
The purpose of me wearing my heart on my sleeve and writing about my very flawed and very imperfect morning is to prompt you into thinking about the times when you have run low on reserves.
Coach Yourself on Mummy Tantrums and Build Your Reserves
Have you ever had a mummy tantrum? Whether you have or you haven't, the point of this article is to show you how important it is for you to create reserves in your life.
Grab a pen and paper and ponder on the following 7 questions:
What are the general causes of your mummy tantrums? What happened during your mummy tantrum(s)?
What did you learn from your last mummy tantrum?
What didn't you learn? In other words, what is the same mistake that you keep on repeating?
When will you say "enough is enough" about this and try a different approach for this mistake?
What reserves were you running low on at the time of your mummy tantrum? List them …
What can you do to create super-reserves in the future?
What will you do today to create one of those reserves?
By taking a little time to identify where you are low on reserves, you will identify triggers and come up with new ideas that will certainly be invisible to you when you are in mid-tantrum.
Happy tantrum taming!
Amanda x
About the Author
Amanda Alexander - Professional Coach supporting women in the UK/Europe/America to achieve much more than they thought possible.
About Coaching Mums: Would you like more time and lightness, with less stress and guilt in your life? Visit Coaching Mums for fabulous free coaching tips, especially for mothers. Receive our popular free monthly ezine, "Inspire" - Mums Who Want Success, Fulfilment and Balance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
SEARCH THE WEB
Custom Search
