Don’t be an elephant!
October 3, 2016I recently heard an excellent story told by Dave Ramsey on his podcast, EntreLeadership. The message sparked a profound awakening in me and my hope is that it does the same for you. It went something like this…
You know how circuses tame a baby elephant?
They drive a “giant” metal stake deep into the ground with an “enormous” chain from it tied to the elephant’s ankle. The infant mammal fights with all her might until eventually coming to an understanding that she cannot free herself. Soon enough a mindset formulates, she accepts the situation, and no longer attempts moving the stake.
You know how they restrain her years later as a full grown, mighty adult?
They drive a “little” steak into the ground with a “tiny” rope from it tied to the elephant’s ankle. Ironically, she chooses not to move. Why? The only thing holding this 10,000-pound mammal back is her belief in the past.
The reality is that many of us err on the side of perceived limitations, those that aren’t necessarily real. Like the elephant in the story, we become immobile by past beliefs or at least they constrain us in some way. By believing them, of what we can and cannot do, we become blind to future possibilities. In doing so we impoverish our full potential.
Ask yourself, “What confines am I imposing on myself at work…are they real or just made up?”
Evaluate the story you might be telling yourself about goals. Then shatter any limited beliefs that are holding you back. The story of the elephant reminded me, and hopefully you, that we are confined only by the walls we build ourselves.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
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