Lessons From Optimistic Rats

What came first, our thoughts or our feelings? Granted scientists have figured out what came first when they researched the egg or the chicken. After an expenditure of millions of dollars, they found that the egg came first. However, this is more complex when we think about feelings, which fabricate thoughts or thoughts that are constructing feelings. Either way both affect how we view life.
     In Learned Optimism (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991)) Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., presents evidence on optimism and pessimism. In short, the book scientifically proves optimists are better in almost every aspect of life. Even when faced with hard times. Therefore, are optimists creating thoughts of illusion?

     Dr. Seligman conducted a study with rats. He had two groups that were placed in a tank of water with milk to make it cloudy. The first group of rats had to swim for a certain amount of time, but there was a hidden island under the water. They were able to find the island and were able to rest. The second group swam the same amount of time as the first and in the same conditions, except their tank had no island.

     On the second day Dr. Seligman did the same experiment. However, this time neither tank had an island. Each rat was tested separately and the times of how long they swam were calculated. The first group of rats, which had an island and then taken away in the second experiment, swam longer than the group of rats that didn’t have anything at all. Therefore, the difference between the two groups is that the first group had hope of an island for them to swim too.

     Dr. Seligman concluded in his study that pessimists respond with helplessness and give up. On the flip side, it is the optimists that persevere. Most of us learn to be optimists or pessimists in childhood and adolescence, and then, for good or bad, we carry this basic attitude with us throughout life. This is where we develop seeing the glass half full or empty.

     According to Dr. Susan Vaughn (2000), “studies suggest that reality is overrated. People who are the most closely in touch with reality are probably depressed. For example, in one study, depressed people were much more accurate than those who were not currently depressed at estimating the risks of all sorts of disasters befalling them, from plane crashes to their chances of being hit and killed by a bus when crossing the street on any given day. They saw the dangers of life head-on and estimated them accurately. Psychologists call it “depressive realism.”

     Here is my point. We don’t need rats to explain to us about hope or optimism. Christ came and developed that already for us. Can we turn our life around or is it too late? It is never too late. Christ meets you where you are in your life. Example is with “doubting” Tomas (John 20:24-31) and allowed Thomas to experience the feel. Just like the rats that felt the island they couldn’t see. Then when Christ is taken away, like the island, Thomas still believed and had hope.

     Is the sky dark in your eyes? Maybe you didn’t have a solid foundation growing up and still don’t feel a solid foundation to give you the hope that the glass is half full. It is a challenging aspect to create the illusion the glass is half full and not empty. When you are in pain you feel like being pessimistic and saying I am sick and there is nothing I can do about it. It’s everyone else’s problem. You lose hope and sight and allow the pain to interfere with something better.

     What can we learn from an optimistic rat? We don’t create an island. We believe in one. How? Paul expressed it best when he wrote, “Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. However, this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). We believe on Him who will continue to deliver us. That is the glass that is half full.

     I had to learn to grow from being a pessimist to an optimist. When I experienced God directing my steps and not me then it becomes optimistic. When I direct them, it is pessimistic. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble (Proverbs 4:12). No matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). When we are faced with obstacles like the disciples were, Jesus provided the optimistic hope by saying to them; this has to be done in prayer (Mark 9:29).

     There is a reason to be optimistic. In the end, Christ paid the debt and created optimism. Satan is the one which creates pessimism. Remember, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(Philippians 4:6) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Reference:
From Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism by Susan C. Vaughan, M.D. Copyright © 2000 Susan C. Vaughan. Excerpted by arrangement with Harcourt, Inc.