Whistling the Fish Philospohy

Have you ever whistle while you work? If you know how to whistle, try it sometime at work. You don’t have to do it in front of your students. You can always do that in the comfort of your cubicle while you deal with the many piles of work waiting for you to clear. You will find that whistling is a great way to relieve tension. It is almost as if the tension built up is blown out of your body as you whistle. As you whistle while you work, you may find yourself actually enjoying some of the mundane things you have to do. Don’t let the strange eyes of those around you stop you from doing that. You have a right to whistle (as long as it doesn’t sound irritating) and a right to enjoy your work.

I learnt that you may not always have a choice over the work given to you but you can always choose your response to it. I learnt this from two different sources. One was from a video about the success of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish market. The other came from Steven Covey. I think the effect is most powerful if you read the original three sentences from Steven Covey’s The 8th Habit:
Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.
In those choices lie our growth and happiness.

The stimulus could be the dreary work assigned to you. You can choose to respond to that dreary work by allowing yourself to dread it or you can decide to choose a more positive response and whistle while you enjoy work. In the words of “Fish!”: We can choose the attitude we bring to our work. So, according to the fish philosophy, the first ingredient to an energy-filled workplace is to Choose Your Attitude. When I choose a positive attitude towards work, I am choosing an upbeat tune to whistle while I work. When I choose a positive attitude towards work, I am choosing to enjoy my work.

According to the fishmongers, the second ingredient of an energy-filled workplace is to PLAY! The fishmongers of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish market play by throwing fish , by making jokes at each other and the customers, by calling out orders and repeating the calls in a fun way. Last Sunday, in Top Shop at Suntec City, I witnessed the second ingredient. The two cashiers serving me pretended to be the hosts of a game show. As I paid for my goods and received a scratch card (It was the holiday season.), the cashier suddenly spun the sunglasses rack and made some sound effects “tart, tart, tart”, almost as if he was spinning the “wheel of fortune.” Then they announced my prize (which was just a $10 voucher) in unison and took turns to comment on how good the prize was and clapped. My wife and I could not help but smiled as we left the shop. It was an enjoyable shopping experience. They had made our day. That is the third ingredient, Make Their Day. It is not too difficult to replicate that same element of fun in the school. It is much easier to do in the classroom than to do it in the staff room but it can be done. As long as there is intent, it can be accomplished. I remembered someone once left a small model of a dinosaur near the entrance of the staff room which ignited creative energies within the staff room. Teachers started to add ornaments to the dinosaur. The dinosaur even carried different signboards with different signs from time to time. Each time we entered the staff room, we were surprised by the transformation of the dinosaur. It provided a necessary relief from the demands of our work. Later, someone commanded it to be removed.

The last ingredient is “Be Present”, which means to show consideration for another person. To be present is to give undivided attention to the person concerned. I must try to be present especially when I am with my family. I remembered many occasions when my wife was talking to me and I was distracted by television programmes. I wasn’t being present and therefore missed many parts of what she said. And when she looked at me for my reply I would go “huh?”. I wasn’t present even though I was there.

I haven’t whistle for a long time. It’s time to whistle the fish philosophy and bring more joy to myself and everyone near me.

Chris