Seeing a baby elephant learning to use its trunk is like watching a toddler figure out how to use its hands.

Jane Goodall - born April 3, 1934.

Jane Goodall is a renowned British primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist, best known for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. Even in her 90s, she continues to advocate for conservation, animal welfare, and environmental causes worldwide.

Goodall’s referring to the observable fact that baby elephants are quite clumsy with their trunks in early life. Despite the trunk being an incredibly powerful and precise tool, baby elephants don’t instinctively know how to control it fully at birth. They swing it around awkwardly, often stepping on it or using it inefficiently, much like a human baby slowly learns to coordinate its hands and fingers.

Whether it’s an elephant or a human, mastering your body’s tools (trunk or hands) takes time, patience, and repetition. It’s a reminder that all creatures undergo clumsy beginnings before mastering essential skills.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you cut yourself some slack in the harsh judgement of your initial failings?

The innocence and universality of growth, observes that the baby elephants' struggle is endearing because it humanises them. Goodall often emphasised the connectedness between humans and animals, using such comparisons to foster empathy toward wildlife.

In essence, learning and clumsiness aren’t failures; they’re signs of growth.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you recognise your signs of growth, rather than allow the commentary of those around you to limit your potentiality?

When a baby elephant is born in captivity, a rope is tied around its leg, not a heavy chain, just a simple rope, tethering the calf to a post. Initially, the young elephant attempts to break free. It pulls. It struggles. It even strains to the point of exhaustion.

But no matter how hard it tries, it can’t escape. Over time, something shifts.

The elephant stops trying.

What began as a physical restraint becomes a mental one. The rope becomes unnecessary; the elephant now believes that freedom is impossible. Even as it grows into a powerful adult, capable of uprooting trees and carrying massive loads, the belief instilled in its youth holds it captive. The rope no longer restrains its leg. It restrains its mind.

And so, the adult elephant, towering and mighty, will stand still, held by a rope it could snap in seconds.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you are bound by the ropes of your childhood, unaware that big grown-up you is so powerful that you could carry the massive loads life throws at you with the snap of your fingers?

In Legally Blonde, particularly during the Harvard Law classroom scenes, the phrase “snaps for...” is used as a playful, supportive gesture, especially within Elle Woods' sorority culture. It’s a way of saying “well done” or “good job” in a light, friendly, and slightly exaggerated way.

In Elle’s world, snapping fingers (instead of clapping) is a stylish, sorority-born way to celebrate small victories or show appreciation. When Elle brings this into Harvard, it feels out of place in the more conservative, serious environment, which adds to the comedic tone of her character, blending cheerleader energy with legal rigour.

In essence, when Elle or her sorority sisters say “snaps for…”, they’re giving encouragement, playful recognition and a slightly ironic but genuine sign of support.

In Legally Blonde, it symbolises her refusal to shed her unique identity even in traditionally severe environments. It’s both character-specific and a subtle lesson in authenticity.

Many of us carry mental ropes tied around our minds, placed there by past failures, early criticisms, or limiting beliefs absorbed from our families, schools, or society. At one point, we tried and failed, and now we’ve stopped trying. We’ve accepted invisible limitations.

We tell ourselves stories that we’re not good at that, or that it’s just the way we are, or that people like us don't deserve this, or that we’ve never been able to do something.

Here’s the thing. The rope doesn’t hold you. Your belief in the rope does.

The Boy Scouts’ “Be Prepared” is future-focused. It’s about readiness, planning, and anticipation. Carrying your compass before you get lost, sharpening your axe before you need to chop wood, it’s a mindset of vigilance, like a soldier in training or a sailor checking the weather before setting sail.

The Girl Guides, “Well Done, Well Done, Well Done!” is past-focused, grounded in achievement and affirmation. This is an acknowledgement after action, the applause after a performance, the medal after the race.

“Be Prepared” is your readiness before the event.

“Well Done” is recognition after the event.

One is about arming yourself for the unknown, the other about celebrating what’s been accomplished.

Both represent different philosophies of growth:

The Boy Scout mindset builds confidence through preparation.

The Girl Guide mindset builds confidence through acknowledgement.

Some people live by the Boy Scouts’ motto: always preparing for what’s next.

Others thrive on the Girl Guides’ approach: being recognised and rewarded for what they have already done.

Mastery blends both.

Lack of preparation and lack of encouragement are double-edged swords.

Lack of preparation leaves you vulnerable to failure, mistakes, and self-doubt. But it also impacts how others perceive you; you lose trust, credibility, and opportunities. That’s one edge.

Lack of encouragement erodes inner confidence. Without positive reinforcement or belief from others, motivation tends to fade. But it also discourages taking risks and pursuing growth, robbing both the individual and those around them of potential. That’s the other edge.

Together, they become a compound problem:

You enter situations underprepared.

You feel unsupported while attempting to overcome that.

Both inner confidence and external outcomes suffer.

Prepare for the “well done” while preparing for the “to be done”

I’m a massive fan of a plan, of being prepared, but I’m an even bigger fan of celebrating success, giving credit where credit is due and saying “Well done!” when someone has done well, particularly if before they started preparing, they doubted their ability to succeed but swung their clumsy trunk anyway.

While you’re thinking about that, think about this and have a Gr8 day!

Be well.

DL

"The highest compliment you can receive is Well done.”

John Wooden - 1910–2010