What are Your Yellow Ropes?
                        by Toni Freeman


In today's world it is important to teach employees more than the
technical components of their jobs. Successful companies take steps to
build the individual and the work teams confidence. When designing a
program for your employees and management, experiential exercises like
the one which follows ususally drives your point home and gets the
best results for your effort. I often use this exercise in my courses
to demonstrate how we have all been inadvertently programmed to
underestimate ourselves.

I ask a person, let's call him Jim, to put on a belt to which are
attached four long yellow ropes. I have four other people stand in
each of the four corners of the room, each person holding the end of
one of the yellow ropes. I blindfold Jim, and place three $10.00 bills
on the floor, each bill in a different location.

Jim is then instructed that his task is to find and pick up the money
as fast as possible. I explain that the four people holding his yellow
ropes want him to succeed. Since he is unable to see well enough on
his own, they will use the ropes to guide him.

Then by gently tugging on the ropes they guide Jim toward the first
object. Jim gropes around the floor and finds the first bill. Then the
guides tug on his ropes again, leading him to the second bill. Then
the third, Success! The group applauds.

Next I remove Jim's blindfold and place blindfolds on the four people
holding Jim's ropes. I give Jim new instructions, telling him to pick
up the three bills again. I also stress to Jim "THERE ARE NO
LIMITATIONS You Can Do Anything You Want."

I have performed this demonstration many times and each time the
person wearing the belt reacts in the same way. They either TALK or
TUG!!

Why don't they ever remove the yellow ropes? The ropes are no longer
guidelines, they have become limitations. They paralyze the person
wearing the belt. They limit his movement and keep him from success.
Yet the person does not take off the belt, he talks, telling the
others to "Pull me this way.. You, in the blue shirt, let loose of
that rope."  Or he tugs, trying to overpower those holding the ropes.

In this demonstration the yellow ropes represent beliefs that were
once useful to us but which have now become limitations (limiting
beliefs).


              Keys To Success When Using This Exercise

1.  After the exercise ask the group to explore what made Jim under
estimate his own ability and to over estimate what he needed from
others. Be sure to allow plenty of time for the group to share about
the lessons they learned about themselves and the team. It amazes me
how many different learning interpretations individuals have.

2.  Be sure to look for behavior (interactions) that occurred between
different members of the team while the exercise was in progress. An
example is where one person is pulling on the rope in resistance to
the leader being successful.  Ask this person why they were resistent.
They might answer that they didn't want to make it too easy for Jim to
get the objects etc. Discuss whether they believe that success must be
hard to be worthwhile. Their answer is a mirror of why they resist the
team or the leader in other areas of their life. The game is almost
always an indication of the underlying beliefs that we each
unconsciously react to in other areas of our life.

3.  Be sure to stress that how ever they participated it was ok. Make
it safe for your employees to compare this game with how things are in
the work environment.

4. In closing your session ask, What Are Your Yellow Ropes? Who or
what is holding you back? Do you really need to wait any longer to
make your life and your career as successful as you want it to be?
What would happen if you took off those ropes and lived out of the
possibility that you are versus the limitations that keep you tied
down?

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Toni Freeman is the Certified Center Owner of Global Relationship
Centers in Ft Myers, Florida. She produces and facilitates
experiential human relations courses such as The Joy Course, US
Attitudes, Learning Styles, and Understanding Yourself and Others. To
find out more about how to dramatically increase your ability to
succeed in business and personal relationships, or to request
information concerning available learning materials and future
seminars call (941) 561-1900 or EMAIL:  Tonifree@aol.com