Recently, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus acquiesced to the pressure from animal rights groups and the general public and will no longer have elephants performing in their circus after 2017.
Elephants are very intelligent creatures, which is great until they are frightened or angered and then unleash their power on their tormentor. Interestingly enough, you can find elephants restrained in most circumstances by a simple shackle on one leg that is chained to a small stump in the ground. What keeps the elephant from simply kicking its leg and pulling the stump from the ground? It’s the power of the assumed constraint.
From a young age, the elephant has been chained to a stump in the ground and without the wisdom of age, pulled on the shackle until it cut into its leg. Never forgetting the pain (remember elephants never forget!) the now adult elephant sees the stump as an immovable constraint.
A lot of us are like that elephant. From a young age we might have been told our place in life, our destiny, and what we should expect for ourselves. You’ve probably heard statements like these:
- Our family is Blue Collar – we don’t go to college.
- Remember where you came from.
- This isn’t the kind of career you should want.
- A woman’s place is in the home.
- White men can’t jump.
- You were enlisted in the military. Only officers deserve these kinds of opportunities.
Each of these statements, regardless of the intent, serves to chain us to the stump. Believe it or not, all can be broken away from. It simply takes a commitment to view current circumstance through a new lens. Instead of accepting “no” for an answer, ask yourself “why not?”
It’s a pitiful life being chained to a stump. The elephants at the Ringling Brothers circus will soon be free of it. What’s holding you back?
