We all have doubts, fears and disappointments in our lives. We’ve all had times in our lives where we felt bound by our past and our fear of failure. We know we should change, but…we can’t. Can you relate? I know I can!.
This weekend I’ve been reflecting on my business and life and the changes I need to implement to make 2017 the best year ever. The challenge is that in order to change it means I need to alter my thinking. I need to “unthink” my past and eliminate fear in order to unleash my hidden potential. And unthinking my past is not something I’m relishing. I’ve invested loads in my past (both financially and emotionally) but I know that in order to grow I need to release some of this old thinking and create the space to make new decisions from where I am now.
So how did we create this thinking? This story of the elephant describes the situation so well. When an elephant is born into captivity, the owner ties the animal to a tree or post with a thick chain to prevent the 250-pound infant from escaping. During the first few weeks of his life, the small elephant tests the chain that binds him, again and again, in an attempt to free himself and wander as his nature urges him to do. His efforts, however, are no match for steel links. Over the course of a few weeks, he eventually learns that his resources are no match for the hardiness of the chain. He gives up any further attempts to free himself, and thus relegates himself to a life within a small circle.
As an adult elephant conditioned by a past experience, he can now be tethered to a small tree with the thinnest of ropes or, in some cases, no rope at all. He makes no attempts to wander because he carries with him, for life, the belief that he does not possess the power to break the ties that bind him. The adult elephant could easily snap the rope or uproot the tree to which it is attached, but he makes no such effort, because early in life, he was taught that true freedom was not available to him. For the remainder of his life, he is tame and nothing like the captivating, powerful creature he was born to be.
Can you sympathize with this story about the elephant? Do you feel your life has been shackled by what you were conditioned to believe when you were young? Maybe the conditioning was even more recent than that. Whatever thoughts came up for you as you read this I urge you to stop and reflect on whether your current thinking is serving you now. And if it is not then maybe you want to unchain your elephant and let it run free.
I’m off to do some elephant unchaining of my own. Are you going to join me?
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
