. In the circus, there was a new baby elephant born one day. They tied a rope around his leg and attached it to a stake in the ground when he was a baby. The distance this young elephant could travel was limited by the rope. He tried every day to free himself from the stake, but he was too weak. There were months, weeks, and days that passed. He gave up after failing repeatedly. He eventually matured into an adult elephant one day. He was large and powerful, and he was perfectly capable of escaping the stake. He had, however, learned that he could not succeed, so he never tried. His learned beliefs kept him attached to that stake.
