Overcoming Limitations 1
Bible passage: Jeremiah 29:10-13
“10. This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. "
There is a psychological term called the “flea effect.” This refers to unconsciously setting goals and setting limits to one's abilities, creating a limiting situation for oneself. Fleas are very small bugs but they have an extremely high jumping ability. Although this is a low height when compared to humans, fleas can jump a height that is more than 100 times their own size. It's like a human being able to jump 150 to 180 meters, which means the height of one floor of a building is about 2.6 meters, so you can jump almost 60 stories or higher.
Isn't it amazing to think about a 60-story building? But why did the saying that even if fleas jump, it’s no use? A biologist experimented with fleas. He placed fleas in a 1m deep bottle, closed the lid, and observed them jumping. The flea tried to jump out of the bottle, but its head hit the lid every time. After some time had passed, the biologist opened the bottle lid. He thought the fleas would jump out when the lid was opened, but surprisingly, the fleas did not escape. Although the flea has sufficient jumping ability, it is the result of having failed several attempts and thinking, “I am a flea that cannot jump high,” and setting limits for itself.
