“The only thing limiting you is yourself.” -Ken Poirot
If you have ever been to a circus or seen one on tv, maybe you have noticed that the elephants are not in cages as are the other animals. Instead, these massive creatures are only contained by one small rope tied to a leg.
Since elephants are big enough and strong enough to break this bondage, why don’t they? The answer lies in their conditioned mindset. You see, when they’re young and much smaller and not as strong, they can’t break away from this rope. It’s strong enough to hold them. As they grow up, they slowly are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They think the rope can still hold them, and eventually they give into the belief that they can’t break free.
Elephants could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believe they can’t, they just get comfortable with how things are. –Unknown
Summary:
We are often like elephants in a circus. We cling to limiting beliefs because we’ve been criticized or told something negative by someone else (or ourselves), and we hang onto that chain. Or, we haven’t had the success we desire, so we have conditioned ourselves to believe we can’t do something. Many of us hold ourselves back by clinging onto outdated beliefs that no longer serve us. We have “settled” where we are because we feel tied to a rope of limiting beliefs.
Quit limiting yourself and cut the rope! Start becoming the you, you are meant to be.
Reflections:
- What are some limiting beliefs you have?
- Are these beliefs true, or have you just fallen into the elephant’s trap of believing them because you have failed in the past or someone has reinforced those thoughts of yourself?
- How can you and/or your team use this message to help you?
Moving Forward:
- Most of your limiting beliefs can be overcome. The first step is to start changing your self-talk. Challenging these limiting beliefs automatically makes them weaker. Start adding the word, “yet” to your thoughts. “I haven’t beaten her yet” or “I am not good at hitting curve balls, yet.” Yet tells your brain to hold on that it’s just a matter of time.
- This story was shared in The Confident Athlete: 4 Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence. For more ways to work on improving your self-talk, check it out. It’s available on Amazon.
- Share this message with someone that needs to cut the rope on a limiting belief they have of themselves.
“Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on our own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.”-Denis Waitley
For more stories like this, check out Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity: Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity – Tami Matheny