Corrales Mentales

At the ranger station midway on a hike through Boston's Blue Hills, I stop to relax and take some water. Two large horses belonging to the Metro Boston mounted police stand in the shady corner of a small corral. I notice that the fence that contains them is so flimsy that they could smash through it easily if they wanted to. I'm not a horse mind reader, and it could be that they know how weak the fence is, but in my imagination, they don't realize that they can break out. That thought reminds me of my own mental corrals, and how many of us have them.

Mental corrals prevent us from doing what we're otherwise able to do. When we don't ask for a promotion because we think we won't get it, we're in a mental corral. Mental corrals keep us from exercising choices we have, and they can even keep us from seeing them. They prevent us from reaching our potential.

A few kinds of mental corrals:

OK Corral

When things are OK, we sometimes can't see how much better things could be. We tolerate what we need not. The OK Corral kept IBM from introducing the PC until after Apple showed it could be done, and the delay may have cost IBM dominance of the desktop.

Terror Corral

When terror grips us, we believe that the only sensible choice is to stay inside the corral. Either we imagine the threat, or someone else induces it. The Terror Corral kept European sailors from crossing the Atlantic, even when the Polynesians were crossing the Pacific — with inferior technology, and centuries earlier.

Example Corral

When something bad happens to someone else, we sometimes fear that it will happen to us if we try something similar — even after the situation changes. Bullies can control a social group much more powerful than they are by making examples of a few of its members.

Rationalization Corral

Mental corrals prevent us
from doing what we're
otherwise able to do

When we don't want to take risks, we invent reasons for staying put. "It costs too much," "It'll never work," "If it were that easy, someone would have done it already." The Rationalization Corral often acts as a "second fence." It prevents us from seeing the outer corral — the more powerful reason we choose not to act.

Can you remember a time when there was a mental corral that you had to break through to achieve a goal? Make a collection of the corrals you've escaped. Is there a pattern? What would happen if, instead of breaking out of your mental corrals, you just stopped building them?  Top    Next Issue

As a costs savings measure, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided in 2004 to close these stables. Park rangers in Boston's Blue Hills Reservations began patrolling on foot. The stable's residents — King Arthur, King Pellinore, Sir Dillidon, Turk, Merlin, and Lady Guinevere — have been reassigned to other duty around Massachusetts. Seems like the Commonwealth is in a Mental Corral of its own.

For more on achieving and inspiring goals, see "Commitment Makes It Easier," Point Lookout for October 16, 2002; "Beyond WIIFM," Point Lookout for August 13, 2003; "Your Wishing Wand," Point Lookout for October 8, 2003; "Give It Your All," Point Lookout for May 19, 2004; "Knowing Where You're Going," Point Lookout for April 20, 2005; "Workplace Myths: Motivating People," Point Lookout for July 19, 2006; "Astonishing Successes," Point Lookout for January 31, 2007; and "Achieving Goals: Inspiring Passion and Action," Point Lookout for February 14, 2007.

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