One day, the Shriners Circus was performing near my house. My wife and I decided to take our four children to see the animals (to tell you the truth, I had never seen a circus with animals). After the show in the big tent, I took my kids backstage to get a closer look at the animals. Once in front of the elephants, I noticed that they were held only by a small rope that they could easily break. The guard explained to me that when they were young, they could not break their rope and were conditioned not to run away. That is why they stay in place even though they are now strong and can easily break the rope.
Like elephants, how many of us live with the thought that we can't do something because we haven't been successful in the past? Why refuse a new safer method or a new PPE on the pretext that it will not work? And worse, how many of you have not started a task because a co-worker told you it was impossible?
The human brain is a little beast that researchers are starting to tame and understand. By its nature, it does not like changes, from where the ease of becoming complacent and hampered with small ropes like the elephants. If the inventor of the telephone had thought that speaking in a wire was impossible, we would probably still use smoke signals or drums to communicate. Don't let workers who start their sentences with "In my time" tell you the real facts; experience the new methods for yourself. Experimenting doesn't mean "trying it just once". Give your brain a chance to break the ties that hinder it. After a few tries, without noticing it, your little inner voice will tell you, "How could I have done this the wrong way for so long?" Everything our brain receives comes with little ropes, but the good news is that the more ropes you break, the less ropes your brain will produce. One day, you will no longer have any hindrance and your brain, instead of producing ropes, will produce new procedures that are safer, and this is called "having a safety mentality".
My father once told me, "Not Able Impossible is dead; his little brother's name is Try it To See."
