Don't give in to the self-fulfilling prophecies that surround us / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-May-2020

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

One of my majors in college was Psychology.  I first heard this phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy back at Bemidji State University in the early 1990's.  By definition, a self-fulfilling prophecy is a psychological phenomenon where someone predicts a behavior within either themselves or someone else and that prediction somehow comes true.

Let me give you some examples:

Let's say you tell a coworker that they must feel depressed after losing a loved one (or some other traumatic event).  That coworker may not feel depressed and even says so, but you keep on, day after day, telling that coworkers that they must feel depressed.  Well, one day that coworker actually admits that they feel depressed.  They weren't feeling that way until you introduced it to her, but now here it is.

Or if a parent was to say to their kid, who had been caught drinking at the age of twelve, that they were going to be an alcoholic by the time they turned eighteen and would never achieve anything better than a minimum wage job.  Would it surprise anyone that the kid did everything the parent predicted, that they could never hold down a job and did indeed develop a drinking problem?  Simply because it was suggested to them?  Nope, no surprise here either.

That is a self-fulfilling prophecy at work.

What irks me are how many articles and podcasts and news segments are out there, with headlines about how stressful people are now and how we're living in uncertain times.  Doom and gloom.  Stress.  I don't know how many times I've seen the word "stress" or "stressful" on these headlines.  I subscribe to a number of leadership, business, and entrepreneur type of email newsletters and/or podcasts, and that seems to be all they can talk about lately.

I have two words for those creators: STOP IT!

I have been through stressful financial times in my life, many of which were during my marriage with my late wife, and we got through it all.  We had each other, we thought positively, we worked hard, and instead of asking "why us?" we asked, "Okay, what can we do to fix this?"

Don't give in to what so many want to do: by putting you down and putting the thought of stress, uncertainty, and complete hopelessness in your life.  Take control of your life.  Turn the questions around by asking, "What can I do to turn my business around?" or "What can I do to create more financial freedom in my life?"

Stop listening to the negativity.

And start thinking, praying, for what you should be doing.  Come up with ten ideas on what you should do.

Do it today.  The universe is counting on you.