As I read the John Mariotti article “The Power And Danger Of Self Fulfilling Prophecies” I am reminded of a quote I read decades ago “Perception is a mirror not a fact”. As with the young painter and other characters in the story illustrating Mr. Mariotti’s point, we are all prone to follow the pack, like little lemmings, and walk right off the cliff unless we are very careful to protect our thoughts.
Sadly most of us will let the world (spelled the media, government, political “correctness”, and fear mongers) decide our fate as our own decision making has been relegated to someone else. Simply put, we are no longer willing to assume responsibility for the outcome. Because of this, like the painter, we succumb to influences that may have nothing to do with reality. This also leads to a sort of giving up and thus, consciously or unconsciously, setting in motion a self fulfilling prophesies.
As a personal illustration of how insidious this tendency is, I was recently involved with closing a transaction that was a little difficult. There were many facets, and as such, there were many different ways the deal could fall apart BUT there was really no (meaningful) indication that it would do so. The day before the transaction closed I was obsessing in a discussion with an associate, as I am prone to do, and she said to me “Gary why are you projecting a negative outcome that is so remote it serves no one? Focus on getting this done and a positive result.” While this thought process was my own doing, the point remains the same; whether outside influences or something of our own creation, the results, i.e., the self fulfilling prophesies, are based on choices we make, either consciously or unconsciously.
This article is very timely and right on the money. See the link below and enjoy!
http://www.openforum.com/articles/the-power-and-danger-of-self-fulfilling-prophecies?extlink=em-openf-SBdaily
