A few years ago, a professor in Harvard University has carried out a six-week experimental research to investigate how a group of rats can reach the cheese by passing through a maze. His target groups are three groups of students and three groups of rats.
The professor said to the students from the first group, “You all are lucky because you will be provided with talented rats. These rats are very smart and they will reach the finishing point within a very short period. Then they will eat the cheese happily. So, you have to prepare more cheese for these rats at the final checking point.”
Then the professor turned to the second group of students and said, “You are not bad too, having together with these normal rats. These rats will pass throught the maze and eat some of the cheese. As their knowledge is not high, so their expectation for food is not too high. So, you just prepare the right amount of cheese at the final checking point.”
Finally, the professor walked towards the students from the third group and said, “I'm very sorry for all of you to have such stupid rats. These rats will perform terribly and may not reach the finishing point and thus they won't eat the provided cheese. So, you do not have to prepare any cheese at the final checking point.”
After the sixth week, this experiment has come to a conclusion. Talented rats passed through the maze easily and reached the final checking point with just a very short time. They enjoyed eating the cheese happily. The normal rats also reached the finishing point as expected. However, for the stupid rats, only one rat passed through the maze successfully to reach the finishing point and the rest still wandering around the maze.
This experiment is purposely designed by the professor to test the students' psychology thinking. Interestingly, the rats are all normal rats. They are not categorized as talented, normal or stupid rats. But why these rats performed differently? That is because the influence of the professor who labeled the rats as “talented,” “normal,” and “stupid.” Under his influence, the students had different attitude towards the rats they were having. Of course, the students cannot understand the words speaking among these rats, but these rats understand the attitude of students towards them.
This experimental research has proved to us the miraculous power of the attitude.
What type of attitude you use to face your life will always be repaid to what type of life you are having now.
