Monday Inspiration: Break Your Boundaries

When elephants are only babies, their trainers keep them constrained to a certain area. Their foot is tied to a chain or rope, and they can’t move beyond that rope’s length. When the chain is finally removed, the elephant still does not leave that area. He has been trained to stay within those boundaries unless his trainer tells him otherwise.

The goldfish is much like the elephant. He is constrained to the size of his home. A small fish bowl only will allow it to grow so big. He must be placed in a larger bowl to continue growing.

A lot of times we find ourselves in the situation of the elephant or the goldfish. We have been given boundaries throughout our lives, and we are stuck with the same behavioral patterns that don’t allow us to grow.

We need to break out of those boundaries! Be like the fish jumping out of his bowl—or the elephant breaking his chain to explore the expansive tundra!

Study these simple guidelines to learn how you can break your boundaries and start to grow.

Learn

When you’re learning, you are growing and stretching yourself beyond where you’re at right now personally and professionally. It’s important to educate yourself and learn new things all the time. Introduce new opportunities to learn, like a new job, course or relationship. Feed your brain and break your intellectual boundaries.

Explore

Go out and explore. Whether it’s your own town or a whole new country, explore something new. Try a new sport or go to an art or history museum. Explore and learn new things in new places.

Meet people

Meet people who are different than you. Ask people questions and learn their outlook on the world. Doing so will break the boundaries of your mind and open you to new possibilities.

Question

The elephant never questions what it would be like to step out of his boundaries. The goldfish can’t jump out of his bowl to find a new home. But we as humans can question.

We can question our boundaries and explore new thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. We can expand the limits of our minds. Question everything and make decisions to break out of your current boundaries.

Stretch

Stretch yourself in your career or relationships or goals. Push yourself to achieve your ambitions, like writing a book or lifting more weight at the gym. Break your current boundaries so that you can grow and progress.

When you break your boundaries, you will continue to flourish in this world. I want to stop you from being like the elephant and the goldfish. Don’t settle for your current boundaries—break free of them and level up.

How do you plan to break out of your current boundaries?