I was passing by a herd of elephants. However, I suddenly stopped, noticing that these elephants were restrained by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains and no cages. I was confused. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to. But for some reason, they did not. I saw a trainer nearby, and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
“Well, when they are young and much smaller, we use the same kind of rope to tie them,” he said. “At that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe that they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
I was amazed. These animals could break free from their bonds any time, but because they believed they couldn’t, they stood where they were.
Like these elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do or accomplish something, simply because we failed at it once before?
