Believing In Yourself Is The First Step To Success
A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains.
All that was holding them back from escaping the camp, was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs.
As the man gazed upon the elephants, he was completely confused as to why the elephants didn’t just use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They could easily have done so, but instead, they didn’t try to at all.
Curious and wanting to know the answer, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants were just standing there and never tried to escape.
The trainer replied;
“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 only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping from the camp was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible. I've seen this same mindset in people, where they let past experiences or limitations define what they can achieve - just like the elephants, they don't realize their own strength and potential. For instance, I recall a friend who was hesitant to start their own business because they had failed in a previous venture, but with some encouragement, they took the leap and discovered that their past failure was not a predictor of their future success. I also think about my own experiences, like when I decided to take on a new writing project that pushed me out of my comfort zone - it was daunting at first, but as I started making progress, I realized that my initial doubts were unfounded, and I was capable of more than I thought. Similarly, I think of the biblical story of David and Goliath, where David's trust in a higher power and his own abilities allowed him to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, as we read in , "David said to the Philistine, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty...'" - this story reminds us that our beliefs can be a powerful catalyst for achieving greatness.
No matter how much the world tries to hold you back, always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible. Believing you can become successful is the most important step in actually achieving it.
