The power of hope is tremendous! If we can believe in hope, our ability to apply grit to get through the greatest of challenges increases exponentially. In 1950, Professor Richter conducted a study on rats related to stamina in overcoming challenges. Professor Richter discover that rats placed in a container of water with no escape would, on average, swim for 15 minutes before stopping. Professor Richter removed some of the rats after 15 minutes, gave them a bit of rest, and then reintroduced them back into the container. The rats that were taken out of the water and then placed back in the same container then swam for an average of 60 hours. A increase of 240 times in effort from the rats.
Many in the field of psychology have reviewed this study and concluded that the difference in the rats ability to swim so much longer was simply based on the experience that they could be saved. The conclusion: if the rats thought they would be saved, they would give effort far beyond their initial attempt. As we look at discovering our greatness and helping others to do the same, we conclude that life will provide challenges and our hope in a good outcome is paramount to our resilience in overcoming the challenges. If we think about how much we could produce or endure at 240 times greater with hope, we quickly deduce that we should focus on hope. In order to focus on hope, we must look at what we have previously accomplished, and as in the experiment, use that knowledge to sustain us through any challenge. Each of us has accomplished greatness, we need to focus up our accomplishments to help us elevate our abilities.
Tag someone that is struggling and help them to center their thoughts on hope. They will find immense strength and grit in so doing. #hope #power
