A Story of Elephant
A guy, one day, was passing the elephants in a zoo. He suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that the huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front legs. No chains, no cages.
It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from the ropes they were tied to, but for some reason, they did not.
That guy saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to break away.
“Well,” he said, “You see, when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them, and at that young age, it was enough to hold them.
As they grow old, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the same old rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
My friend was amazed.
These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but they never try because they believe they couldn't and were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something simply because we failed at it once before?
Let's try once again by attempting to grow further.
A guy, one day, was passing the elephants in a zoo. He suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that the huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front legs. No chains, no cages.
It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from the ropes they were tied to, but for some reason, they did not.
That guy saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to break away.
“Well,” he said, “You see, when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them, and at that young age, it was enough to hold them.
As they grow old, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the same old rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
My friend was amazed.
These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but they never try because they believe they couldn't and were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something simply because we failed at it once before?
Let's try once again by attempting to grow further.