The Elephant & Rope As I was passing a field with a number of elephants, he 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 their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He beckoned to their owner nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the owner said, “when they were very young and much smaller we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it was enough to hold them. As they time went by, they were conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” I was baffled, not only about the elephants fate but for the Nigerian story that spurned to mind. 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, so it is with my country Nigeria. Like these elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:00:00 +0000
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