The Story Of The Pike Fish

Written on November 22, 2007 by Tezza

Thursday’s weekly guide to Personal Growth from 4EvaYoung.com

Alex over at The Next 45 Years wrote a great article on success using a great story about pike fish. “A pike-fish, which is a large and menacing creature, was once the subject of a laboratory experiment. Scientists captured this large pike-fish and put it in a tank along with many small minnows.

The pike wasted no time making quick work eating the minnows. After a few days, all of the smaller fish were gone.

The next day the scientists placed a large glass tube in the middle of the tank. The pike was placed inside this circular tube. Next, more minnows was placed back in the tank, but on the other side of the tube that contained the pike-fish.

The pike charged after the minnows, but to no avail. The fish kept banging its pointed head against the glass. The pike-fish could see the minnows, but could not reach them. This struggle continued for many days.

On the last day of the experiment, the scientist lifted the glass tube out of the tank. They left both the pike-fish and the minnows in the same tank, swimming together.

The next morning, the scientists found the pike floating on top of the water. It had died of starvation. Ironically, what it needed for nourishment and to sustain its life was right there, but it had given up. It grew tried of the frustration and weary from struggle. It had lost its desire to keep trying, to keep fighting for its own survival.”

To read the rest of the article visit: 5 Day Success Challenge

I think we can all relate to the pike fish, we’ve all been guilty of giving up on success too quickly because defeat has beaten us down. As a child I was fascinated when I went to the circus to see these monstrous elephants being tied down by what seemed like this tiny rope wrapped around one of its leg tied to a stake dug to the ground. If the elephant so much as got an itch and raised it’s legs, I think it would have no trouble in freeing itself from the shackles and walking away to it’s freedom. And yet these elephants were content on being submissive to much smaller masters namely us humans simply because their trainers were able to beat it’s resolve out of them at an early age.

Trainers like in the case of the pike fish condition the elephant to fail, often and repeatedly at it’s attempt to fight for freedom by making sure that the shackles were strong enough to withstand even the most tenacious baby elephant struggling to free itself. Off course as the baby elephant one days grows to a full grown adult its strength and size makes it more than physically capable of breaking free but the work has already been done. The elephant long ago has already been convinced that their is no point in trying as its a pointless exercise. The elephant like us humans has decided to accept it’s fate not knowing that their inner strength is hidden their ready to explode at the very command.

Conditioning and repeated failures can have such a devastating affect on the success or failure. If we encounter failure enough times we will eventually believe we are a failure. If we are told we can’t or aren’t good enough repeatedly we will begin to believe and act accordingly.

If we keep failing then eventually we just stop trying like the elephant and the pike fish. It is important to not just have belief and faith, but I think we also need to gain little successes continually to condition within ourselves that sense of self worth. When you set your goals, dream big but make your subgoals achievable. That way as you continually keep achieving your subgoals that take you one step closer to realizing your dream, you are also conditioning yourself that you can achieve, you can succeed and you can be great.

Don’t let life beat you down like the pike fish and find that freedom and success that is hidden within you before it becomes a distant memory.

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