For 25 years I have lived with fibromyalgia and most recently degeneration of my spine. Both of these cause extreme pain and intense fatigue. This story is about hope, about alternative thought processes that can help us in living with these types of diseases.
I was inspired to share this incredible narrative with you after hearing it. Despite the fact that this narrative portrays brutal and unethical animal experiments that no one should ever condone, there are a number of major lessons to be learned. Things such as your mind’s ability to grasp your skills and the power of belief.
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Giving up is a decision: you control how far you go in life, and your beliefs continue to feed your own belief in yourself, allowing you to achieve far more than you ever imagined!
When you believe in yourself, everything is possible.
When you have faith, everything is possible.
Dr. Kurt Richard conducted a cruel study at Harvard in the 1950s in which he placed both wild and domesticated rats in a pool of water to see just how long they might endure by swimming about before giving up.
The contrast in findings between domesticated and wild rats was astounding. The domesticated rats were able to swim for about 40 to 60 hours on average, but the wild rats were unable to keep up and drowned after only 15 minutes of trying. They were both of the same species of rat. The sole difference between the two groups was that one was domesticated and the other was wild.
They reached a conclusion that the fatalities were psychological driven rather than physical; they died because they gave up!
Further experiments with the same breed of wild rats they tried something different. They put them in the water but, right before they gave up due to exhaustion, the researchers would take them out and dry them off, hold them for a little while, and let them rest for a few minutes. They would then put them back in for a second round. How long do you think they last at this time? Remember, that they had just swam into failure only a few short minutes ago. But, this time they were saved by the researchers before certain death. They had given up on life.
How long do you think they lasted this time? Another 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes? No on average they lasted 40 to 60 hours. The same as the domesticated group. That’s not an error! They went from giving up after 15 minutes they were then able to go 40 to 60 hours.
The conclusion reached was that because the rats assumed they would be rescued eventually, they were strong enough to push their bodies beyond their prior limits. They had already given up hope after 15 minutes. They continued going because they had hope this time.
According to the study’s summary, the phenomenon of sudden death is defined as one that occurs in humans, rats, and a variety of other species, most likely as a result of hopelessness.
Sudden death occurs when we lose hope. We die inside and fail when we lose hope.
Unless you feel you are capable, you aren’t. If you truly believe in your abilities, then everything is possible for you!
If you believe the negative voices within you, that say you can’t, then you can’t, and you won’t. If you connect with the winner that is inside you and believe you can succeed, then it’s only a matter of time until you do succeed.
Let me leave you with this thought…
Can you imagine how different your life would be if you started believing in yourself? If hope can keep exhausted rats swimming for that long, imagine how amazing your life would be if you truly believed in yourself and followed your dreams
If you have trust in yourself, you will be successful in almost anything you set out to achieve! Remember to keep an eye on your goals and aspirations. Never underestimate the strength of your principles, and never, ever give up hope in the face of overwhelming odds.
