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A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that has an indirect or direct effect on reality, becoming ultimately true. In other words, the prophecy comes true only for that the reason that the person who received certain information begins take appropriate actions based on this knowledge, which and lead to the execution of the prediction.
Self-fulfilling prophecies in art
Self-fulfilling prophecies are often found in art, since they have long been noticed by artists, writers, filmmakers and so on.
For example, the famous ancient Greek myth says that Oedipus, according to a prediction, was supposed to kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing this, the father threw the boy in the mountains on eating by wild animals, where the shepherd’s family rescued him and raised him, replacing his parents. When Oedipus grew up, he left the foster father with mother, going to Thebes, where the oracle prediction and come true.
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In the story “Scarlet Sails” by Alexander Green, a collector of legends tells little Assol that on a ship with red sails for the prince will come to her. From now on, girl and then girl begins to expect this event. Once in her city is captain who falls in love with Assol. Hearing about the prediction, he supplies his ship with scarlet sails and sail for his beloved, partially fulfilling the prophecy in this way.
In the cult film “The Matrix,” the main character Neo visits an apartment soothsayers of Pythia. The Pythia asks him not to worry about vases, and then Neo begins to look around in disbelief, because which breaks the vessel standing near it. Thereafter the soothsayer asks the question: would a vase break if Pythia hadn’t reported this to Neo?
The danger of self-fulfilling predictions
Suppose a certain person comes to a fortuneteller, and the fortuneteller informs to the visitor that he will die at the hands of a neighbor. Shocked man begins in every possible way to avoid his future killer, trying set the police on him and in general behaves extremely inadequately. A neighbor turns out to be a drug dealer who, seeing such an attitude towards himself, concludes that the man knows about his illegal activities, and kills the unfortunate fortuneteller client. Thus, it is the fact of the prediction of the murder that provokes this very murder. If the man had not gone to the fortune-teller, he would have continued normally communicate with the criminal, and would remain alive.
In the eighties of the last century, simple Italian Gasparo Mansini, an accountant who loved to visit fortune-tellers, was alone a psychic woman said that he would die from problems associated with the stomach. The man, always distinguished by excellent health, sat down on a strict diet and kept it for almost twenty years, until he passed away from stomach cancer at the age of fifty five. Doctors stated that the wrong diet was the fault Italians.
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It is no coincidence that there is an opinion that a person should not know at all that waiting for him in the future. And by all means you need to remember that going to fortunetellers and using the services of astrologers is very dangerous …
Self-fulfilling prophecies as a tool to achieve set goal
Self-fulfilling prophecy can also be used to obtain positive effect that psychologists often do, calling him in in this case, the Pygmalion effect. So, in 1985 Canadian researchers of this phenomenon conducted an interesting social experiment. Unremarkable were selected across the country schoolchildren whose parents were told by teachers that these children have bright talents, and they have a great future. Parents started record their children in all sorts of courses, buy them expensive educational literature and by all means encourage their undertakings in different areas of self-development. As a result, more than eighty percent of these children subsequently achieved simply amazing success in life.
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The Pygmalion effect can be successfully used for personal purposes, thereby prophesying health, good luck in business, happiness in family life and so on. How does it work in this case? a self-fulfilling prophecy clearly seen from the following schemes. First, your self-prophecy begins to influence your behavior, which, of course, causes a corresponding reaction with sides of others. The latter gradually change their attitude towards to you, thereby enhancing your self-prophecy. Circle in this case it closes, and then the cycle begins to repeat, and until until your prophecy comes true in full.
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Unfortunately, people often don’t even know how they use self-prophecy to their own detriment. For example, woman convinces herself (or her mother had convinced her of this earlier) that her efforts to raise children, housekeeping less more important than husband making money. Naturally she starts behave in the family as a minor person. Spouse one gets the impression that his wife is an indecisive person and weak who should not be trusted to decide the most important family issues, especially regarding finance. He ceases to consult with her, which strengthens her in the opinion of her secondary. Everything circle it closes, and its repeating cycles only exacerbate the situation of this woman, which often leads to her complete submission a man, when she begins to play the role of a sort of maid in the house, or to divorce. But everything can be changed for the better, if you know, how the pygmalion effect works!
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By the way, we note that the predictions of the great prophets in principle have the same basis, and therefore the faith in them of a huge mass of people (or, on the contrary, not faith) are precisely those mechanisms that allow prophecies to come true or not come true. That’s why even the most illustrious oracles are mistaken in their predictions, that’s why truly enlightened individuals, say avatars try not to talk about the future and not predict anything to anyone, especially something bad. Because the future is multivariate and plastic, and it can be changed!
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