Mindset

As I was passing the elephants, I 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.I saw a trainer near by 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.

"I 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.
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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....

This reminds me of my friend's Labrador puppy which was a 21st birthday present from his daughter's friend to her. A wooden trellis was used to block a door opening to deny him entry, and till today, the fully grown overweight Lab thinks it is an insurmountable hurdle!

But I can't help relating this to how we got used to Alliance and then Barisan Nasional as the one and only coalition to rule this country for more than 50 years! Maybe it is time to change our mindset and remove the shackles. Don't you think so?
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