During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank.As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.

The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the baitfish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the baitfish, until eventually, the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether.

The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark did not attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the baitfish, so the baitfish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

The Moral of the Story: Most people tend to give up after facing a series of setbacks and failures. But do not let these setbacks keep you from trying again. Think of each setback as an opportunity to learn. Do not let the barriers that you set for yourself in your mind keep you from achieving your goals. Remember, nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.