#023 THE ELEPHANT AND THE ROPE
As a man 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 their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
“Well,” trainer 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.”
The man 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.
How many of us are being held back by old, outdated beliefs that no longer serve us? How many of us have avoided trying something new because of a limiting belief? Worse, how many of us are being held back by someone else’s limiting beliefs?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.
Watch out because our comfort zone is linked to it, too. What I mean is that sometimes we prefer to be there just because we think some things are difficult to achieve and we prefer to do what we know or not to explore new forms or ways. Be wise and consider to change it.
Watch out because our comfort zone is linked to it, too. What I mean is that sometimes we prefer to be there just because we think some things are difficult to achieve and we prefer to do what we know or not to explore new forms or ways. Be wise and consider to change it.
What an interesting story! I've always thought that we lose more when we don't try something we want, than when we try and maybe fail... In that failed attempt we gained experience, we don't lose anything when we try to do something, on the contrary, the opposite... You have to lose the fear of failing, although this sometimes difficult. Everything is in self-confidence!
ReplyDeleteSure, yet many people don't do it for they have some experiences from the past which refrain them, besides there are cases where people, even when they haven't had any bad experiences, don't try to do something just because they are afraid or embarrassed and they never have a go.
DeleteI really loved the story, it made me think about it. In my opinion we never shouldn't lose the faith that we can do something, sometimes we need somebody to help us to realize that we can give more of our 100%,but how in the story says when he grow up he never try it again so that make me understand that we should
ReplyDeleteYup Claudia, we have to try again, faith is one of the most important things that exists, I remember this verse Matthew 17:20: "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
DeleteHi, I’m Dafne
ReplyDeleteThis reflection is so beautiful, sometimes we have the idea that if we couldn’t do what we want at first, we would never have it. This is so wrong because it means surrender and stagnate, we can never improve if we don’t make an effort and we give up. No matter how many times we fall down, what count is how many times you get up because this is the only way to reach success.
Very good Dafne, you remind me Thomas Alva's words "I haven't failed I just found 10 000 ways that won't work" so perseverance is something which can lead us to success. Another quote, which is a bit funny, is "I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong", you know I have met lots of people who repeated a cycle at their studies and gave up instead of trying again and get what they want to achieve.
DeleteI loved this story because te reflection is beautiful. I think it is true, many of us give up for something that didn't come out and we never try again. If you really want something fight for what you want but do not live tied to a rope without trying it before
ReplyDeletethis reflection help us not to give up and always try again.
Kiara Flores
A fabulous history with a great message, first make us account so fragile that it can be our mind and the worst thing is that we can play against with ourselves. What I want to mean is must release What scares us and take risks sometimes, because the great advances in mankind were made by people who left their doubts and risked it. Alejandra Peña Molina
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this story it makes me feel that I'm not the one and I'll be no the only one identified with the elephant maybe not all of us feel the same way but definitely there is always that "rope" that makes us say "I can't " "I'm not capable of. .. "" I'm not enough to ... ".
ReplyDeleteInsecurity doesn't allow us to leave our comfort zone and to think what we will do if we fail, however, it's in us not only to believe in us but rather to be persistent until we achieve our goals and dreams.
It's more than clear to say that it's a beautiful story and that we must be learned with of all our fails.
This story is so true! Sometimes fear or conformity make us not release our true potential. If it makes you happy, just do it without fear or doubt. We should never renounce to our dreams because of other people beliefs. We should be brave. In the future, when you look back in time, you will regret more about what you didn’t do than you did. With this story, I remember that if I want something, I can do it.
ReplyDelete