Many a times we just go about by others’ opinions. Most of us may have even chosen our career stream just because someone else thought this was the only best thing we could ever do. But was that really true?
Have you ever crossed any terrain using elephants to carry out the logging work? I crossed one recently and was astonished to see that this mighty creature is tethered in its hours of leisure by a thin single rope. Although the rope is long enough to allow the elephants to move around, but it restricts them from wandering around the place.
Does this not sound surprising? On pragmatic terms, an elephant weighs some several thousand kilos and effectively no rope on earth can ever hold an elephant that decides to break free of its bondage.
The million dollar question here is ‘Why don't they do it, then?’
It is because their mental reflex has been conditioned to accept the rope ever since their childhood. An elephant calf when tethered for the first time is too small and weak to be straining against the rope. Although it tries its level best to break free yet it does no good for at that time, the calf has not got the power to break the rope.
And it is here that the famous memory of elephants starts working against them. These calves never forget their efforts in trying to break the rope and the resulting failure. And just because they were not able to break through the rope at that point in time; they start living on the assumption that they can never ever break it.
And a small rope thus gets the honor for holding a fully-grown elephant. This, my friends, is the power of thinking.
POWER OF THINKING
Not only animals, but some humans also showcase this trait. Various psychiatrists reiterate that people who were told as children that they weren't very good at a particular thing grew up believing that and never even tried that particular thing for the rest of their lives.
“No one on earth is perfect. Everyone may commit mistakes; the only need is to reassure an individual that his/her action was the best in regard to his/her individual capabilities. And this is the only way to foster positive energies,” says Dr Anurag Saluja, senior psychiatrist at Max Hospital.
This can be simplified by putting it as may be that a child might just need a little practice, or might need to be taught a better way of doing a particular task than s/he would know to be at par with his/her peer group. And, in the absence of such reassurances, children start exhibiting traits of severe shyness or start becoming introverts due to excessive peer pressure. What can work wonders here is a little encouragement from the parents.
Many a times it happens that a stressed out or irritable parent ignores the child. A mother might not have exhibited the patience to hear out the child’s full narrative of an event in the hurry to reach office in time. Whatever be the reason, phrases like "What do I do with you?" and/or "You'll never get it right!" mar the initiating instinct in the child forever. This or being laughed at by the father, mother, and/or a sibling may prove to be an ever bothering shackle like the rope around the ankle of an elephant and would never come to be recognized as the weak thing; it really is. And this incident of a child being mocked at by a dear one whose good opinion matters a lot; will hog-tie the person for life.
We, as human beings have been gifted with the most precious dispensation by the Providence in the form of rationality. This grants us the capacity to change our thinking as per context. If one learns to recognize the archaic limitations that held his/her instincts back from their real goal; they can simply breakthrough these as surely as an elephant could break a rope.
The only requirement here is to just put some thought to work and interpret what would we really love to do that we are not doing now? It can be a particular course of study, a profession to be pursued, and/or something that you just missed out on-a career, you always wanted to pursue, an interest that lies buried deep down your heart, or a hobby that soothes your tired spirits? Do you have any unfulfilled ambition that you shunned years back as someone sneered at you then and foretold that you would never be able to make it? Remember, absolute honesty is needed here. Being disheartened or scoffed is the most painful and embarrassing experience for a child, and most of us cope up with it by concealing the entire incident, in the deepest recess of our minds along with our much cherished ambition because we do not want to feel that trauma again.
Trust me, looking back at that ambition now would not bring back that trauma but would rather relieve you by enabling you finding out the reason you wanted to follow it and will also help you adjudge whether you still want to pursue it or not? In case, it turns out to be some such thing that you seem to have outgrown honestly; do not worry about it any more and just treat it like taking the sting out of a bad memory, getting rid of all the concerns
associated with it.
AN ETERNAL QUESTION
But before consigning your interests to the oblivion, do question yourself one last time.
If you were to live in a perfect world, and if you are ensured that pursuing your interest would never hurt again, and that you do possess the talent required to make it big, and there would be no failures, along with people around you applauding your skills, would you still want to walk away from it?
And if you hear the feeblest and tiniest voice inside you asking wistfully, ‘what if’; the job is done. Do go ahead and the world will see you marveling at the thing you were first ridiculed at. Remember, most of the technological advancements of 21st century were once mocked at. Every great thinker and philosopher was once shunned by our society.
Thence, it is not the people but your interest, what matters the most. Almost every skill can be learned and in such cases, happiness comes not from what one gets from life, but also from the creative energy that one puts into doing something he/she loves to do. Most of the people who mocked others' dreams have never even tried to realize their own ever. Therefore, just try and tap your latent talent once again and trust me, you can come out in flying colors.
Happy Exploring!!!
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