Hope

“Fight or Flight”, “Rest and Digest”. If you’ve taken a physiology course before, you’ve heard these terms. “Fight or Flight” describes our body’s natural response to emergency situations: heart rate goes up, our pupils dilate, blood is shunted towards our muscles, our lungs literally expand to allow more air in. It is the body’s way of preparing us to run from a hungry lion; it is literally survival mode. “Rest and Digest” is just the opposite: our heart rate slows, blood is shunted towards our digestive organs, our lungs equilibrate to a normal volume and rate. If you’re capable of reading these words and understanding them right now, you’re likely in a “Rest and Digest” state.

???????????I was told about a fascinating study by a friend this past weekend; one where the “Fight or Flight” and “Rest and Digest” responses were measured in rats while they were submerged in water. It was done by a researcher named Curt Richter back in the 1950’s. I was so intrigued that I went ahead and read the entire article; you can find it here.

???????????The study took note of the difference between tame and wild rats while they were thrown into water. Tame rats, as opposed to wild ones, have reason to believe that humans are friendly and will likely save them; wild rats have no such inclination. He described wild rats this way: “These animals are characteristically fierce, aggressive, and suspicious; they are constantly on the alert for any avenue of escape and react very strongly to any form of restraint in captivity.” You might think of the “Fight or Flight” response being extremely strong in these rats.

???????????They found something interesting as they put wild rats in water. You’d think these rats are fighters; willing to spend any amount of time necessary to survive. This wasn’t so. Within 15 minutes of putting them in, 34 different wild rats all died. This was odd because some tame rats showed the ability to survive an average of 60 hours, with one rat lasting as long as 80 hours. What happened to those wild rats? I thought those dudes were the gladiators.

???????????The researchers monitored the heart rate of these wild rats while treading water. Instead of “Fight or Flight” responses like a much quicker heart rate, “Rest and Digest” responses almost immediately set in. Their heart rates immediately started to slow. There seemed to be no fight left in them, and they seemed consigned to their fate.

???????????However, an interesting thing then happened. Richter and his team started putting these wild rats in water, then subsequently saving them for a moment, and again putting them back in. Suddenly, these wild rats showed fight. They no longer lasted only 15 minutes treading water but started lasting as long as 60 hours which was just as long as the domesticated rats.

???????????Richter and his team chalked up this change to the rats either having hope or being hopeless. The hopeless wild rats accepted their fate immediately once placed in the water and they Rested and Digested themselves quickly to death; the wild rats that had been taught they might be saved by the researchers used every ounce of their Fight or Flight response to last really long.

???????????If you’ve read any of my material so far, you might know that I have shared frequently how “hopeless” I would often feel about changing my habits. I’d have an idea, and almost immediately turn myself down thinking that I wouldn’t carry it out. It was as if I was consigned to my state of stasis; completely willing to accept my failure before I even started.

???????????I feel like a huge part of changing our habits is proving to ourselves that we can change at least one. We need to have hope that we can change, just like those rats had hope that they would be saved. We might need to grit our teeth and clench our fists through it because the critic inside each of us will be screaming at every step to stop.

???????????This is a small anecdote, but a big one for me none the less. The other day I counted 19 blog posts (this is the 20th) dating back to the middle of January. I have, more or less, been posting a weekly blog for almost six months. I haven’t been perfect at it, but this is probably the most consistent thing I have done without any immediately obvious reward or clear stopping point. I’ve gotten degrees, I have worked. But those included a paycheck or a degree that ensured I would get a decent paycheck. This blog has no such external motivator.?I have received $0 for doing it so far and have spent a good deal of time building it. I’m only saying this because, well, it’s giving me hope. It’s giving me hope that I can stick to something, even when there’s no obvious reward to be had from it.

???????????Hope is a powerful thing, friends. Let’s keep believing someone will pull us out of the water and that we’ll make it.