By Bayo Ogunmupe
Ever so often we allow the rejections of the past dictate every move
we make. We do not believe ourselves to be any better than what some
jealous person once told us. certainly, an old rejection doesn't mean we
aren't good enough for excellence. It just means some circumstance in
our past failed to align with what we had to offer at the time. Somehow,
we hinder our own progress, when we refuse to see it that way. Which is
why we hit a mental barricade that stops us in the tracks. This is a
most damaging thought pattern we must stop.
Even when we instinctually know we are stronger we were in the past,
our subconscious often forgets that our capabilities are infinite and
are eternally growing. Here is a metaphorical insight I got recently.
Zookeepers typically strap a thin metal chain to a grown elephant's leg
and attach the other end to a small wooden peg that's hammered into the
ground. The ten foot tall, 10,000 pound elephant could easily snap the
chain, uproot the wooden peg and escape to freedom with little effort.
But the elephant doesn't. In fact the elephant doesn't even try. The
world's most powerful land animal, which can uproot a tree as easily as
you could break a toothpick, remains defeated by a small wooden peg and a
flimsy chain.
Why? because when the elephant was a baby, its trainers used the
exact same methods to domesticate it; a thin chain strapped around its
leg with the other end of the chain tied to a wooden peg in the ground.
The chain and the peg were strong enough to restrain it as a baby
elephant at the time. Whenever it tries to break away the metal chain
would pull it back. Sometimes, tempted by the world it could see yonder,
the elephant would pull harder. But the chain would not budge, soon the
baby elephant realized trying to escape was fruitless. So it stopped
trying.
Now that the elephant is all grown up, it sees the chain and the peg
and remembers what it learned as a baby - that with the chain and peg
it is impossible to escape. But of course, this is no longer true. But
it doesn't matter that the 200 pound baby is now 10,000 pound
powerhouse. The elephant's self-limiting thoughts and beliefs prevail.
This metaphor makes us all like elephants. We all have incredible power
inside us. But we have our own chains and pegs- Self limiting thoughts
and beliefs that hold us back. Often it is a childhood experience or
failure. Or sometimes, it was something we were told when we were a
little younger.
Another example is an old journalist telling his son that he must
learn both short hand and typing to be an effective journalist, with the
veteran not being aware advances in technology had eliminated his
advice- that the typewriter has been replaced by the computer and
shorthand replaced by the midget. however, what we need to realize is
that we need to learn from the past, but be ready to update what we
learned based on how our circumstances have changed, as they constantly
do. Thus, we have to learn to think better on the past and the present
so we can ultimately live better from now and in the future. But
somehow, thinking better takes guidance and practice. Thinking better is
the soul of living better and self development.
What follows are some truths to guide you to happiness. Happiness
is not something really made. It comes from your actions. happiness is
like a kiss, you must share it to enjoy it. Actually, life is simple but
we insist on making it complicated. Learn to let go of your goals. It
is the key to happiness. Enjoy your life without comparing it with that
of another. If you spent your whole life waiting for the storm, you will
never enjoy the the sunshine. When what we are is what we want to be,
that is happiness. Don't wait for happiness to be thrust upon you, seek
it out in your learning and service to the people.
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