What we can do as humans is limited. We encounter obstacles in every field, and some of these obstacles constitute our limit of impossibility and limit what we can do. Well, have you ever thought about the possibility that the boundaries we have exist only in our minds?
While scientists are conducting an experiment on the heights that fleas can jump, they put the fleas in a glass bowl with a metal floor and a height of 30 cm. Then they heat up the metal floor and the fleas start jumping. Fleas, which can normally jump more than 30 centimeters, hit the glass ceiling because they are closed in the bell jar. Animals' perceptual processes are not as developed as humans. For this reason, fleas cannot understand what limits them. Fleas, who try to jump high thousands of times and are limited by hitting the glass ceiling each time, learn that they cannot jump more than 30 centimeters as a result of this experiment. When the second phase of the experiment is carried out and the glass ceiling that limits the fleas is removed, the metal floor is heated again. However, although fleas have the opportunity to jump higher, they can only jump 30 cm. The external obstacle has disappeared, there is no longer a ceiling limiting them. But the belief that "I can't jump any further even if I wanted to" has settled in their minds. Now the obstacle is in their minds.
Just like fleas, people learn 'what they cannot do' as a result of their experiences. We don't always have to have this experience. We can see someone else's experience and draw conclusions from it. And the sum of these results determines our belief about what is possible and what is impossible. This is called 'Glass Ceiling Syndrome' or 'Learned Helplessness'. The highest point we believe we can jump to in our minds is our glass ceiling. Glass ceiling syndrome can be seen in different areas such as career, family, emotional relationships, and everyone's glass ceiling is at different distances.
With sentences such as 'I can't do it anyway', 'It's just the way it is', 'Nothing will change even if I try', we accept the defeat we have believed in for a long time. However, we haven't even tried it yet. In cases where we believe that we will be defeated, a situation called 'inertia' occurs in physics. Another name for this is 'state of inertia'. Just like he hit his head on the glass ceiling and got better Like fleas that cannot jump high, we have already accepted defeat and do not even dare to try again.
It is possible to give many examples of glass ceiling syndrome from daily life. Individuals who are dissatisfied with their physical appearance and have gone on diets many times but failed each time, give up trying after a while and accept their situation. Because there is a belief that they cannot change the outcome.
Individuals who cannot progress due to fear of getting stuck at a stage of their career can also be given as an example of learned helplessness. This syndrome can be seen in non-family members working in family companies, in women who have started business life in patriarchal societies, and even in idealistic female students who have recently been exposed to the headscarf ban. We encounter people who, no matter how hard they work or how successful they are, can never move on to the next level because of their gender, religious belief or lineage. When we find ourselves in the same situation, most of us get tired of waiting and give up thinking, "Even if I work hard, it won't happen anyway." The reason why there are fewer women in important positions and at the top of management in Turkey is explained by the glass ceiling syndrome argument. It is a fact that women feel this syndrome much more due to reasons such as career interruptions such as pregnancy and gender discrimination in business life. However, we should not forget that there are female entrepreneurs who have left their mark on history by breaking the glass ceiling syndrome and aiming for the highest.
The highest point a person can reach is the glass ceiling. If we keep our ceiling low, we will never reach more. If we believe for a long time that we are defeated, our defeat becomes real. However, there is no loser in the game that has not yet ended. And every new day is an opportunity to try again. The higher our dreams are, the higher the point we are likely to reach. We should know our limits, but we should not be slaves of our limits. As long as we don't give up trying.
If you want to go up to the tree, set your intention to go up to the stars and you will succeed. - Confucius
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