The Experiment During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and released sever...
The Experiment
During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and released several small bait fish into the tank.
As expected, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacking and eating the smaller fish.
Next, the marine biologist inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate sections. She placed the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.
Once again, the shark attempted to attack. However, this time the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark repeatedly tried to reach the bait fish, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam unharmed in the second section. After about an hour, the shark gave up.
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark became less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish. Eventually, the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and stopped attacking altogether.
Finally, the marine biologist removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark did not attack. The shark had been conditioned to believe there was a barrier between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam freely without harm.
The Moral
Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we come to believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our minds, even when no real barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.
(Read "The Road Less Traveled" for more insights.)
