Elephant handlers often train baby elephants to be submissive and to conform by chaining them to a metal set upright in the ground.

They’ll fight and do their best to break free. They’ll try day after day, but eventually, they just give up.

When the baby elephants become adults, they no longer need chains to be tied in place; just a thin rope will do.

Of course, an adult elephant with its incredible strength is capable of breaking the rope, but since its experiences, as a baby, had convinced it otherwise, it never tries.

Now, if you are a fan of elephants, and you felt sympathy for them, then maybe I will make you happy by telling you that this story is maybe a fictional one (because even though I found it on the internet, I also never found a credible source that proves that it's true), but I will still use it as an opener to deliver the message behind this article to you.

How many times have you stopped in the middle of your busy day to question the validity of your beliefs, which were seeded in your brain since you were a young kid?

Unfortunately, as adults, we rarely do. We follow the adult elephant path.

In fact, most people fall victim to one of the following two things (if not both) which shape their beliefs afterward:

1- Either they ask the right question to the wrong person.

2- Or they grew up with a specific belief, and they never question it later.

Let me explain both.

1- Either they ask the right question to the wrong person.

You have an important decision that you would like to make. So, you go to your friend, spouse, or family member, who has no experience and nothing to do with the topic, and ask him or her for guidance.

Usually, the discussion goes like this:

You: ‘’I am thinking about investing some of my money in buying some stocks (replace the word ‘‘stocks’’ with anything you want). What do you think?’’

Your friend/spouse/family member: ‘’I do not think it’s a good idea. It's risky, and you can lose all your money, and the economy is not good these days.’’

You:’’ Yes, you are maybe right. But do you invest in stocks?’’

Your friend/spouse/family member: ‘’ No, I don’t. But the nephew of a cousin of a friend of mine who lives in Alaska does. And actually, she lost some of her money in stocks before.’’

The funny part is that even though you know very well that they have no experience with this topic, you still take their words and turn them into a confirmed bulletproof belief and reality. And based on this new belief, you make your decision and take your next action.

Now, do not understand me wrong. I am not asking you not to consult the people that you trust, nor am I trying to imply that investment in stocks or anything else is safe and guaranteed.

Checkpoint: how many opportunities have you missed in your life because someone who has no experience gave you the wrong advice, and you accepted it and turned it into a belief?

2- Either they grew up with a specific belief, and they never question it later.

Muhammad Ali once said ‘’If a man looks at the world when he is 50 the same way he looked at it when he was 20, and it hasn’t changed, then he has wasted 30 years of his life.”

Each day that you spend on this earth means a new learning possibility and a new experience.

The things which were hard for you to understand or to do when you were 20, became easier or understandable for you when you are 30 or 40 because your level of knowledge changed and your life experience also changed. And accordingly, the way you see and judge things and make decisions changed also.

From time to time, you need to stop and question your beliefs and compare them to the new experience that you gained.

Making an important decision in your life based on old beliefs without questioning them will cause you great damage and will make you miss a lot of opportunities.

Checkpoint: when was the last time that you questioned your beliefs about something important and compared them to your current level of knowledge and experience?

So as a summary, the next time that you have an important decision to make, consider the following:

1- Asking the right person. The person who has a good level of experience, or who already achieved what you wanted to achieve (or at least who had a negative experience with something and can tell you what mistakes to avoid).

2- Challenging your old beliefs and validating them to make sure that they were built on real facts, not illusions or wrong information.

Do not be the elephant who spent the rest of his life believing that it cannot break the rope.

Not breaking your rope and living the rest of your life in a limited space is exactly as if you decided to repeat the same day for 80 years of your life.