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Writer's pictureCharlie Brown

Baby Elephant

Updated: Nov 15, 2023



As a man was passing by a group of elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small piece of 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.


The man saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. The trainer said "When they are very young and much smaller we used the same size rope tied to a stake, and at that age, it was 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 in the same place.


The elephants in this case were experiencing learned helplessness. This phenomenon occurs when someone has been conditioned to anticipate discomfort in some way without having a way to avoid it or make it stop.


After enough conditioning, the person will stop any attempts to avoid the pain, even if they see an opportunity to escape.

If you go through life thinking that you can’t do something just because you have failed at doing it in the past, you're living with a fixed mindset.

Like the elephants, many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we might have failed at it before.

You have to let go of your limiting beliefs in order to make the breakthroughs that are required for your ultimate success.

Failure is part of learning.


We should never give up the struggle in life!



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