Baby Elephant Syndrome

Baby Elephant Syndrome

Early in the doctorate program, I read about Baby Elephant Syndrome. You may have heard of Baby Elephant Syndrome before, but that was the first I had heard this story. If you have not heard this story, let’s briefly recap. Baby Elephant Syndrome is where a baby elephant is tied to a strong rope or chain at a young age and is unable to break free of the constraint. When the elephant matures, the elephant has grown strong enough to uproot trees and surely break the rope, but the elephant has been conditioned to accept this constraint. Even if a weak rope is used, the elephant will not attempt to break free. The constraint is now in the mind of the elephant opposed to an actual physical constraint.

Constraints

We live within a world of constraints, some physical, some not physical but necessary to navigate our social structure, and some merely in our minds. The physical constraints or those needed to function in society are easier to identify than mental constraints. Often, we create those constraints for our own good. The speed limit for instance, or harassment laws, minimum wage, well, you get the picture. Maybe some are beneficial to society and maybe some are viewed as unbeneficial, the subjectivity in those constraints can be debated but we will leave that debate for others to argue.

Unseen Obstacles

The challenge with constraints in our minds is how do we know when we are dealing with a mental constraint like Baby Elephant Syndrome? Let’s look at those around us… how many people do you know that make you wonder why they cannot progress beyond certain limits? Maybe, you have a friend with a degree from a prestigious college, but cannot find a job with decent wages. Maybe, you know someone in your family who seems to have chosen a path that continually leads them into trouble. The purpose of identifying constraints in others is that they always appear easier to identify in others. Self-reflection and understanding our individual behaviors can be challenging.

The Beginning

Where do these mental constraints form? My best guess is they begin at an early age, our parents or caregivers telling us what we can or cannot do as young children. What we are taught as toddlers and throughout adolescence will stay with us our entire lives most likely. Imagine in middle school a young female student is in shop class and tells her teacher she wants to be an engineer, but the teacher discourages her because it is a male dominated field, or makes her feel she is incapable of meeting the rigors of college to become an engineer. Maybe her parents also say her math skills are not strong enough to become an engineer. Those types of negative reinforcements may lay the foundation that creates a mental constraint that deters her from her dream!

Identifying Mental Constraints

Our first step is learning to identify those mental constraints. Not to trace the constraint back to the source, but rather to put a name to the constraint so to speak. Merely understanding we have a mental roadblock to overcome allows us to deal with these constraints. As with the elephant, should the elephant gain understanding of its strength, the constraint would have been broken long ago. Although I am simplifying the analogy, I am sure we have come across mental constraints that we easily broke through once we gained understanding of our strength. Whether that strength be physical or mental, we could break that constraint or reset it so it does not impede our progress!! Our goal should be to identify the constraints that keep us from attaining our goals or reaching our dreams. We can then take action to remove those constraints. In my opinion, we can break any constraint with recognition, determination, and action!