"Lessons from the Elephant and the Rope"
Post on: October 17, 2023
A man was passing by an elephant camp. He was enchanted by the majesty of the gigantic animal. Suddenly something caught his eye. He noticed that each of the elephants was tied to a rope. This confounded him as they were neither caged nor held back by thick chains — but a mere rope!
He stood watching them for a while. He realised that the elephants could so effortlessly break free but they did not. For some inexplicable reason, they succumbed to the power of the rope.
Curious, he approached the trainer of the elephants. “Why aren’t the elephants escaping when they seem so attracted to the luxuriant forest with banana trees just in front of the camp? Why are they stifled by the rope?” he enquired.
The trainer replied: “When the elephants first arrived at the camp when they were young, we used these same ropes to tie them and they worked. These ropes were enough to hold them despite their attempt to flee. As they grow older and gigantic, they are conditioned to believe that they cannot break free. Their mindset is that the ropes are too powerful for them.”
The reason the elephants did not break free and escape from the camp was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible to do so!
The elephants in the story depict the destructive voices of self-limiting beliefs. We tend to think we are not capable of achievements just because we had failed in our previous attempt or the task is insurmountable to achieve by the “insignificant me”. Such beliefs constrain us from maximising our potential and living a purposeful life.
We must be careful as self-limiting beliefs can turn into self-fulfilling prophecies:
A friend of mine was manning a toy store for many years with great success. However, the advent of the online marketplace misguided him. He felt he could not take on the mighty online retailers where consumers got their merchandise in the comforts of their homes with just a click of the mouse! This was compounded by naysayers who painted a bleak outlook on the horizon. “How can a small-fry like you with limited resources and knowledge take on the giants of the on-line marketplace?” the cynics questioned.
Soon his enthusiasm waned. He was not as friendly as he used to be which had allured customers to him in the yesteryear. He ordered a smaller variety of toys from his suppliers fearing he could not sell them. Furthermore, he closed his shop earlier than usual, wanting to save on electricity bills for the “gloomy days” ahead.
Not surprisingly, his beliefs came to fruition — he had to close his shop for good. He had failed to realise that his excellent public relations skills and personalised service endeared him to his customers. He could have gotten a slice of the cake alongside the mighty retailers with his diligence and personality. However, he surrendered to negative self-limiting beliefs.
No matter how many encumbrances you face, always continue with the belief that you can achieve your goals. I’ll end with a profound saying by Mary Kay Ash: “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”
#LessonsFromTheElephantAndTheRope #ShajiThomasVarughese
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