I love the story from Hans Christian Andersen: The Emperor’s New Clothes. The story goes that man years ago, there lived an emperor who was exceedingly vain. He spent all his wealth on the finest clothing.
Two con artists hatched a plan to swindle the emperor. They were weavers, and they offered to create clothing for the emperor that would be like none other. The two proceeded to weave invisible threads together. They assured the king that only those who were worthy could see the cloth.
Worried that he might be getting swindled, he sent advisors to check on the clothes being made for him. But because those advisors didn’t want to be deemed as unworthy, they confirmed that they could see the threads too. More advisors inspected the work-in-progress, and more confirmations of the clothes’ authenticity reached the emperor’s ears.
Eventually, the clothes were done and the emperor planned a parade through the city to show off his new clothes to the commoners. As he walked down the streets, he received praise from everyone who saw him. Although everybody could clearly see that he was naked, nobody wanted to be the only person who didn’t see the clothing. Each thought everyone else saw the clothes while they didn’t.
It finally took a small child to notice the emperor’s nakedness and point it out. As the crowd whispered among itself, they all realized the ruse. They shouted to the emperor, “You aren’t wearing any clothes.”
And while that planted a seed of doubt in the emperor’s mind, he had already committed to the lie too much to turn back. He continued the procession down the streets, convinced that he was the only one worthy to see the fine clothes.
You see; there are some lies that keep bouncing around merely because people are afraid to question the lie. People repeat the lie, even though the doubt is in their mind, because they believe everyone else believes the lie too.
Historically, this allowed segregation in the United States to persist when the vast majority actually opposed the practice. Even in Germany its said that the majority didn’t support Hitler.
There are some lies you might believe right now that are holding you back from what’s possible in your life. There are limitations that you’ve placed upon yourself because you believed lies that were bouncing around—you’ve been too afraid to question them.
Don’t let false limitations hold you back. Just because others believe and repeat the lies, doesn’t mean they’re true. Escape the lies and discover the truth for yourself. Many limitations in your life are not true limitations, only lies perpetuated by those afraid to question their veracity.
