3 Short Stories That Will Change Your Way of thinking

These stories are anonymous but have been shared for years because they have essential teaching for each of us. My friend, an online essay writer , told me about it, and I thought It would be great to write it down here. So, I hope it'll be helpful and enjoyable.

1. The Strength of an Elephant.

Zookeepers often tie adult elephants with a metal chain to a thin wooden stake driven into the ground. The elephant, weighing 5 tons, could escape effortlessly. It could break the chain or pull the stake out of the ground. The elephant is the most powerful land animal in the world. It could uproot a tree as quickly as we bend a toothpick.

But the elephant is trapped in that chain and won't even try to escape. Why does this happen? Because when the elephant was a baby, the tamers used the same methods. At that time, a chain and a simple stake in the ground could hold the elephant and prevent it from escaping no matter how hard it tried.

The elephant assumed that escape was impossible. It was impossible to break the chain that bound it. Elephant "remembers" his experience being the baby. That he cannot escape, it's not true that he can't run today, but it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. It matters what he believes.

Throughout our lives, we have learned a lot about the environment in which we were raised. If our environment has taught us that we are bound to certain chains, we will never try to break those chains, no matter how much potential we have. In our lives, those elephant chains represent the self-limiting beliefs that hold us back.

Often, past experiences, such as rejections, failures, or traumatic experiences, place a chain on us. Even though we can fly, because we have grown up or gained new experiences, if you cannot get rid of all kinds of chains that no longer bind you, you will live bound for the rest of your life.

2. The secret of happiness

There was a boy who did not like to study, but he made an effort thinking that he would be able to do many things and thus be happy when he finished studying. He ended studying, but he was displeased because he had no job. Then he thought he would be happy when he found a job. He ended up finding a job, but he was not satisfied at work. He didn't make much money at that job either, so he was still unhappy.

He got a better job and started earning more money. And everything went well, but only for some time, he felt lonely. He thought that if he found one person, he would be happier.

He found that person, and everything was fine. At least for a while. He always needed more than he had, and nothing seemed to please him after some time of having him. For him, happiness was always in the things he lacked.

One day he died suddenly. Once in heaven, he met his creator and asked him to explain why he never managed to find it despite having been searching all his life for happiness. The creator answered him:

You did have happiness. In all those things, in all those people, and all those moments, you dropped it while looking for happiness.

And as we always say, happiness is not a goal to be pursued but the fuel that will take you to that goal. It is not something to chase. It is an emotional state that you inhabit, and that begins with a starting point: being grateful for what you have and start building from there.

Happiness is, above all having a purpose that makes you jump out of bed every day with energy and vitality. That can only be achieved by a person who always has goals and dreams to fulfill.

5. Life is like a game of chess

Chess is a game of strategy that you cannot win just by moving forward. Sometimes, to position ourselves better, we have to move backward.

And this reminds me that on many occasions, we can get depressed because we receive a setback in life that makes us go backward. Just as in chess, in life, we can win by making a u-turn.

There is a huge difference between giving up and starting over. It is necessary to go backward in many cases, abandon something, and let go of something to position yourself better and move forward again.