While passing by a group of elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that those huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away free from the ropes they were tied to, but for some reason or the other, they did not.
The trainer was nearby and when asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away, he replied:

" Well, when they were very young and much smaller we used the same rope to tie them and, at that age, it was enough to hold them. As they grew up, they are conditioned to believe that, they cannot break away. They believe, the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

Amazingly, these animals which could at any time break free from their bonds, because they believe they couldn’t, were stuck right where they were.

" Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we can’t do something, simply because we failed at it once before?"