I was thinking and that usually means trouble ... but that never shut me up before!

Imagine that your universe is like fish and a barrel.

The water is your environment. Ya know? Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold. Sometimes it's murky, sometimes it's clear. And whoa! sometimes it's turbulent! But most times, there is little you can do about that. Oh you can swim to the top or swim to the bottom. You can pat heads and sooth and comfort. You can scrub and tidy. BUT, primarily, you're in charge of the fish.

You are the only human involved in the care of these fish.

There are eat-it-all fish, love-fatty-foods fish, sweet toothed fish, lazy fish and weak fish. There are a few smart fish and ... um ... some others. There are perky fish and sullen fish. There are some fish who are so busy! and some who think they have all the time in the world.

The natural cycle of things. Some fish die and new ones are born (hatched?). Some fish learn and grow. Some don't. All these fish multiply!

Your job is to make sure that the largest population of fish in your barrel are the smart, healthy and helpful kind. You can reinstruct. You can teach. You can export You can control population growth.

In my barrel, I struggle with the eat-it-all fish. They're very sturdy.
But sweet toothed fish can be taught that a plum or a strawberry is a wonderful thing. They're teachable.
Lazy fish are NOT. I've had to eliminate them -or- I try. They're persistent too.
I have a lot more perky fish than I used to have.
I've found that many fish can become smarter.

How are the fish in your barrel?

haha I like this... I would say my fish are quite busy and sometimes find that swimming around takes a back seat to their school (geddit, a school of fish?) I've also attempted to eliminate my lazy fish, but they're sneaky and hide in the bottom of the barrel so I think that they're gone but they're not! My sweet toothed fish are the most active at 3pm-5pm and 10pm+, they're rather dormant otherwise. Strange fish, those.

My barrel is full of lazy fish and procrastinating fish. They talk a good game, but when it comes to execution, they just sorta float there and make excuses and put things off.

Fortunately I also have some really motivated fish that are willing to kick the other fish in the a$$ often enough to make a difference. And one really motivated fish can often move several of the lazier ones.

But sometimes it's easy to let things slide. I've been working on that lately too!

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Ha ha! I love it!!

I have a barracuda that lurks at the bottom of the barrel and waits to pounce on me if I get the least bit complacent. It hides so I think it's gone but then the next thing you know, it bites me in the #$*%. Strong weight lifting fish, running fish and organized-planning fish keep the water tension enough to hold that barracuda down most of the time. It would be nice to get rid of the barracuda, but then, its presence is the reason I recruited the weight-lifting, running, and organized fish. I wonder if they would be so influential and adept if they had no enemy.

Do I need counseling?

I have some very smart fish that know a whole heck of a lot. Unfortunately, the lazy fish are much pushier. At least I have a few slow turtle fish that keep swimming no matter what.

Ah! turtle fish! Mine too often meet up with the I've-got-a-new-faster-idea fish.

When I decided to clean up the barrel, so to speak, I added a few smart, strong willed and sharp toothed piranhas to the mix, to eat the bad fish! There are a few cowering at the bottom - namely the bad time management fish and the justifying fish - but they need to feed the smart piranhas

My fish are joined by the "feed me demons" who lurk malevolently.

My fish are eating all the cheese and it is making me angry

Love the title!!

My most annoying fish are the ones that are super-controlling, and also the ones that self-sabotage. You'd think they'd be found in different parts of the bowl, but I actually often find them together, egging each other on. So frustrating.

Luckily, I've found a whole bunch of new fish in the past while: likes-exercise fish, cute-bum fish, enjoys-healthy-food fish. Also luckily, they tend to hang out in the top of the bowl more often.

Good analogy!

Oh yeah, I forgot that I have a couple collarbone fish now .