“I’d rather have my baby in the street than go into that death hospital!” Expectant mother
The year was 1847, and the death rate of mothers delivering their new baby had risen to 18% at a hospital in Vienne, Austria.
Obstetrician, Dr. Sememelweis, researched day and night for the cause of this extreme post-mortality rate at his hospital.
One day, he came across a paper written by a physician in another country proposing that “invisible bugs” were causing infection and death. The cure was using a combination of chloride and lime to terminate them.
The paper also suggested that physicians unknowingly pass these bugs to their patients.
Dr. Semmelweis was displeased with the suggestion that doctors might be unconsciously at fault, yet he pushed his ego aside to save his patients.
He concocted the chloride of lime solution and proceeded to wash his hands before delivering babies, for this was not a standard procedure at the time.
Almost immediately, the post-mortality rate for his patients dropped from 18% to 2%. Then he ordered all of his medical instruments to be washed in the chloride of lime solution before each procedure, and the mortality rate dropped to 1%.
Dr. Semmelweis was both delighted and saddened.
He was grateful for discovering the breakthrough solution yet horrified by the idea that such heartbreak was due to the doctor’s actions since their mission was to save lives.
So he shared the news and enrolled all the doctors in adopting this new practice, they saved hundreds of lives, and all loved Dr. Semmelweis.
I wish that were true, but self-deception is brutal, and when under pressure, the ego is more concerned with self-preservation than what’s good for humanity.
Instead, colleagues mocked his “invisible bugs” theory and continued doing what they had always done despite the substantial statistics proving their approach was detrimental.
Administrators retaliated with the cost of remodeling the entire hospital with sinks in each room so physicians could wash their hands before delivering babies.
Instead, they continued to state it was a ventilation problem and ordered the windows always to be open.
Even with Dr. Semmelweis’s 17% improvement in post-mortality death, the consensus was that “Doctors don’t spread disease; they cure it!”
Outraged by such ignorance of the truth (self-deception), he railed against the powers that be, was fired, and passed away in the prime of his life after experiencing deep depression.
Twenty years later, the “germ theory” was proven accurate, and Dr. Semmelweis became known as the Father of Infection Control.
Yet, how many families were devastated because human beings resisted change so adamantly?
Having all the supporting information, data, and facts in front of you don’t seem to change behavior when one’s ego feels threatened.
Instead, we slip into denial, blame others, or attack ourselves with no intention of changing our approach.
“Yes, well that was back then and we’ve come a long way since then.”
Have we?
I observe individuals, corporate executives, company teams, and family members struggle with the same self-deception and ego challenges now as we did then.
Changing behavior and emotional habits by first becoming accountable for your feelings and actions can be as frightening as death.
Your old habits must die for your new life to begin.
That cannot happen until one owns their thoughts, feelings, and actions, even when it feels lousy, instead of blaming ourselves, others, or life experiences for how we show up today.
Every day is a fresh opportunity to begin a more empowering chapter of your life by setting aside ego, blame, and self-deception.
Will today be that day for you?