The Elephant and the Twig

This is an interesting book which I read a few years back. I remembered I was just looking for books to read when I saw this book. The cover page looks attractive to me so I just picked it up. But after reading it, I found some interesting concepts in the book and I would like to share one particular one with you.

In this book of Geoff Thompson, The Elephant and the Twig, he mentioned about the story of how in India, they train obedience in young elephant.

In life, we are very much the same; if told over a period of time that we cannot escape mediocrity, or there are no ways we can change the environment, eventually our belief will become so strong and so real that we too become like the elephant will believe it.

Our mind is only limited by the restriction we, and a lot of time others, put on it. So open up your mind and let it be free and it will be the MOST POWERFUL resource you can tap into.

Just like we need clean water and clean food to survive and be healthy, our mind need a lot of nutrition too. All this nutrition can come in the form of reading from books.

Knowledge is free and powerful tools ... when put in good use! Enjoy the story : )


The Elephant and The Twig
by Geoff Thompson

"Have you ever heard the story of The Elephant and The Twig? In India they train obedience in young elephants (to stop them from escaping) by tying them to a huge immovable object, like a tree, when they are still very young. The tree is so large that no matter how hard the baby elephant pulls and tugs it cannot break free.

This develops what is known as 'Learned Helplessness' in the creature. After trying so hard and for so long to break the hold, only to be thwarted time and again, it eventually believes that, no matter what it does, it cannot escape. Ultimately, as fully-grown adult weighing several tons, they can tie it to a twig and it won't escape, in fact, it won't even try"

Geoff Thompson