Whether in your professional or personal life, sometimes it’s hard to be assertive with what you want. For those with the backbone of a sponge cake, it’s easy to find yourself compromising on your needs for others. So when you feel like too much of a pushover, take a page from those men who throw fish at fish markets – be loud, brash, and unapologetic, even when you’re turning 40-pound fishes into projectiles that could easily knock out an unsuspecting customer.
Stand your ground.
A good fish throw starts with a proper wide-legged stance, and metaphorically, so should you. Whether saying “No” at work or telling your roommate to stop eating your snacks, always stay firm and solidly rooted to your convictions. A literal wide-legged stance could also work – after all, what’s more assertive than talking to someone with your knees bent like you’re about to yell, “Fish incoming!”
Communicate properly.
Every fish vendor worth their salt knows the key to a good fish throw is communicating properly to those around them that they’re about to throw a massive, slippery dead animal through a horde of shoppers. Just like them, you should be clear and concise with what you want. Do they ever just say “No worries if not!” or mumble “Sure, that’s fine”? No! They yell over and over again to emphasize that a fish is being catapulted into the air, regardless of safety or hygiene. For more advanced communication, you can also grab a buddy to do a call-and-response chant until the person you’re standing up to finally backs down.
Be unapologetic.
The fish is being flung into the air and that’s a fact. The fish thrower will not change its trajectory just because someone is in the way and if someone gets clocked in the face by a large, scaly creature, that’s on them. Adopt that mentality. Don’t start your sentences with “Sorry” or “Maybe” – put your needs above everything else, even OSHA hazards. Just like a 50-pound carp soaring through a crowded market, take up the space you deserve and don’t back down!
Standing up for yourself is hard, but if fish vendors can chuck weapon-grade projectiles in public without considering anyone else’s wellbeing, then so can you! Whenever you’re feeling walked all over by people in your life, put yourself in the fishmongers’ rubber waders and soon you’ll be clomping right back all over them.
