We've written before about ants, termites, spiders and crocodiles – and all these articles are related to personal development. This time, however, I'll write about a rat, named Steve McQueen, with whose help we'll explore the peak of the pyramid of knowledge about human beings. More precisely: human values.
Take 7 minutes to read how rats can give us a hand in identifying our values. Ready?
I have two children and both are teenagers. More precisely, at the age of teenage rebellion – which means that many attempts at dialogue end with the same standard answer: "fine".
Recently, one of my children, who is a teenager, discovered a series dear to my heart: Dr. House. I'm sure you remember the brilliant doctor, Gregory House, the fascinating and complex character, with a strong personality and an extraordinary ability to solve medical problems. He's adored by many viewers for his intelligence and creativity, but especially for his sharp sarcasm that gives him some delicious lines.
He constantly breaks the rules, but instead of getting upset, you feel like you're on his side because he has a solid justification: he breaks the rules in service of a higher, more noble purpose than conformity: saving patients' lives. As a conclusion – everyone loves House, but no one would want him as their personal doctor!
I can't wait for my teenage offspring to get to season 2 episode 8, because there we have a debate opportunity that won't be dodged: the hierarchy of human values. (what follows falls easily under the spoiler alert category, but please be lenient) What happens in this episode? House is approached by his ex-wife, who asks him to help and cure her current husband. For a few months, he's been paralyzed and no doctor has managed to establish a diagnosis and treatment that would heal him. House and the team start working on the case, but the inevitable happens: House grows close to Stacy, his ex-wife, again, and the two fall back in love with each other. Love transforms House: the cynicism disappears, he becomes more tolerant, and even has moments of empathy.
The episode could be called "love works miracles" if it weren't for a detail that has the power to change the course of events: when he accompanies Stacy to her house, she complains that there's a rat in the house. She doesn't know where it came from, but the rat is living well, and the husband (in a wheelchair) hasn't been able to catch it. House accepts the challenge and promises to catch the rat. He sets up a trap, lures it in, and lies in wait to fully enjoy the moment of victory. The rat appears, comes closer, and there's a scene in which man and rat look each other in the eye and study each other carefully… and the rat makes an almost human gesture: it stands up on two legs and tilts its head to the right, continuing to study House. That's the critical moment when House has a suspicion and… you already know how the wheels start turning in his head.
What did House see so special about that rat? A healthy animal always keeps its head straight. Tilting the head to one side is a sign that the animal is sick, since its sense of balance is affected. Since balance management in both humans and rats depends on the inner ear, this means that the rat in Stacy's house suffers from a neurological disease. The most common causes of neurological diseases are infections with viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc… but if a human comes into contact with the pathogen… how would the disease manifest in them? Could it be a form of paralysis? Like the one the husband of the woman House loves suffers from?
House catches the rat, runs all the necessary tests, discovers the cause, and manages to cure the rat. This time, he and the rat can look each other in the eye without the rodent tilting its head to one side anymore. What are the consequences? House has identified the pathogen, prescribed a treatment that works, and in this way can also cure the human patient. Except this patient is the husband of the woman he loves.
Now House has two options: First: if he administers the treatment, the current husband is cured and Stacy stays with him. Second: if House doesn't make public the result of his experiment on the rat, the husband remains paralyzed, Stacy divorces him, and House remains a happy man in love. A doctor just as good, but more human, more friendly… A happy man.
This dilemma speaks about the hierarchy of values that guide House. It's not hard to put yourself in House's shoes and realize that he has an extremely difficult decision to make. But this kind of decision is exactly what shows us the hierarchy of our values, meaning those benchmarks which, if we respect them through what we do every day, give us the feeling of a fulfilled life. And if we break them, feelings of frustration, guilt, disappointment… and pain arise.
So let me ask you: would it help to know our values and become aware of how we do or don't respect them? It would help us understand why there are jobs, people, and environments where we simply feel like we're suffocating. Or simply why we flourish in certain environments…
What do you need to do to find your values? One solution is to put yourself in a situation similar to House's. To feel the torment, pain and suffering of having to make impossible choices. Unpleasant, isn't it?
Another solution is to come to our "Energy Management" program where you have the chance to discover yourself from multiple perspectives and find out what energizes you and what drains your energy. And this way, discover how to easily access your own reservoirs.
Which option do you prefer?
PS – if you want to find out the end of the story you'll have to watch the show. I recommend it warmly.
Written by Alexandru Caruntu