What I Learned From A Dead Fish

I remember being young and frustrated in my job and while out fishing with a friend I remarked that I felt much like the fish that were making a lot of noise in our cooler. We were catching mackerel that day, and those are some serious fighting fish. Long after they were brought into the boat and hook removed, they were still banging around in the cooler. "They just aren't smart enough to realize that it's over.", I said, thinking that it was very much like my career.
Then, on the way back home, as we were bumping across the bay, we hit a bigger piece of chop and the cooler lid flew open and a mackerel went flying out into the water. I stood there with my mouth open, realizing that the intelligence of the fish wasn't what was in play...it was their unwillingness to be dead....