Thought for the Day 1/6/2023

 Friday Tale - the Elephant Story 

In india elephants are used for manual labor. But there’s a problem. On a building site, when the elephants aren’t working, their handlers need to restrain them. Here’s what they do ... An enclosure with three-foot-thick concrete walls will restrain a full-grown, 9,000-pound elephant, but it’s expensive and not portable. The solution the handlers came up with is surprisingly simple.

           They discovered that they could program the elephant while he’s still young — “imprint” self-imposed limits into his thinking — and he’d restrain himself, without an enclosure. Here’s how:

           When the elephant is small, weighing less than 200 pounds, they tie him to a tree with a heavy rope, giving him about six feet of slack. All day, the elephant tugs at the rope, whines and squeals, spins in circles and even attempts to chew it. But he can’t break free.

           Eventually, the elephant resigns himself to the fact that he can’t get loose, lies down on the ground exhausted, and the fight is over. But here’s the important thing.

           This “belief” that the rope limits him, is “imprinted” in his brain. He is now programmed to know his limits. And, with the imprinting in place, the trainer can take a thinner rope and tie him to a smaller tree.

           Now here’s the surprising part — and the reason why I tell you this story. When the elephant is fully grown — possessing the power of a bulldozer — a small rope tied to a wooden stake in the ground is enough to restrain him.

           You see, the elephant’s limits do not take place in the real world. They take place in his mind. He is capable of much more, but he’s unaware of it.

           I’m an elephant. And so are you.

           Like the elephant, we’ve been programmed with “built-in shackles” that limit our happiness.

           Without realizing it, “limits” to what you can and cannot do have been programmed into you by your parents, siblings, friends, teachers, the culture you live in, authority figures, TV, employers ... and everyone you’ve come in contact with. For instance ... an overheard negative remark about you from your mother to your father, a teacher who punishes you for being late, a coach who belittles you, a classmate who taunts you, a teacher who praises you, a friend who supports you, a mother who screams at you not to touch the stove, a father who warns you to be home by eleven or you’re grounded, a brother who yells that his room is off limits, an aunt who encourages you, a sales clerk who looks down at you, a waitress who ignores you, a cop who stares at you, etc.

           Every day, people and events let you know who you are and what your limits are. Of course, some limits are needed for your safety, but most have done more damage than you realize, stifling the real you.

           The truth is ...you are more powerful, smarter, and possess more abilities than you realize. You are capable of so much more.

           But you’ll never reap the rewards that life offers as long as you live within other people’s limits.

Remember, you are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
~ from Jim Gentil 

BUT the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
~ 1 Timothy 1:5