As
my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by
the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope
tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. 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. My friend saw a trainer nearby
and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and
made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are
very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and,
at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are
conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the 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 because they believed they couldn't, they 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? So make an attempt to grow
further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?
"YOUR ATTEMPT MAY FAIL, BUT NEVER FAIL TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT"
my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by
the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope
tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. 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. My friend saw a trainer nearby
and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and
made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are
very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and,
at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are
conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the 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 because they believed they couldn't, they 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? So make an attempt to grow
further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?
"YOUR ATTEMPT MAY FAIL, BUT NEVER FAIL TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT"