I remember when I was younger, my grandparents used to have this sentence framed in their kitchen:
"Ich wünscht ich wär ein Elefant, dann jubelte ich laut. Es ging mir nicht ums Elfenbein, nein, nur um die dicke Haut."
Roughly translated, it means: I wish I were an elephant. I would celebrate loudly. It's not about the ivory, no, it's about the thick skin.
The sentiment of this proverb states that Elephants have thick skin which makes them able to survive attacks from their natural enemies. Elephants are hard to bring down. If we relate this attitude to humans, it's about the ability not to let stuff bother you; that you are resilient to other's comments, to temporary emotions that can drag everyone down, and that you can analyze and adapt.
Though, what we consider an amazing ability for the Elephant, the skill to remember events and behaviors can also hold them back.
How it can hold them back, I want to tell you in a story:
Once upon a time, a young boy wanted to go with his father so badly to the circus. He loved the shows; he loved seeing the animals, and he loved the whole atmosphere about it.
As luck happened, a crew member invited him and his father backstage tour of the circus. Ever since he can remember, he was fascinated by Elephants. Their sheer size and their ability to remember events from their younger selfs were mesmerizing to him. Imagine his excitement when the tour guide announced that they would also visit the Elephant from the circus on the backstage tour.
Finally, they went to the area where they held the Elephant. Much to the boy's surprise, the elephant was chained to a plastic chair with a meek looking rope. He couldn't understand it. How did this majestic being not run away from this chair? Elephants were so mighty; how could a simple rope hold it?
After seeing this scene, the boy asked the tour guide with a puzzled expression why the Elephant wasn't running away. The tour guide replied the following: "When they barely born, the Elephants get chained with a metal chain to a stump log. They will try and try to get away from the stump log, trying everything they can. After a while, they give up and learn that there is no escape. So they got used to it and learned that no matter what is attached to their leg, they will never be able to run away. After the elephant has learned this, we can attach a simple rope to anything, and the Elephant will not try to escape. It has given up, as it has learned this was his truth."
This answer shattered the young boy as it seemed ridiculous that such a majestic being could believe in something that he learned while he was young. The elephant must have realized that it's a grown up now with the strength of thousand of baby elephants. But it didn't. It kept on believing what it learned as a child.
One of the most satisfying things for me is the ability to grow as a person, to see hard times as challenges I can learn from, and adapting my belief system in a way that benefits me instead of bringing me down. What are things you believed as a child and still hold onto? Are there ropes that hold you back? It's always possible to change your belief system; it's not the easiest of work, but it's worth it.
