The Power Of The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a statement or prediction that influences actions and thoughts to the extent that it becomes true. There are many examples in literature, movies, and real life of self-fulfilling prophecies that are negative in nature. These cautionary tales show how powerful of an effect belief can have in determining how our lives unfold. The good news is that not all self-fulfilling prophecies have to be negative. In fact, they can actually be very positive and vastly improve your life. There are two main determining factors that affect what will ultimately happen in your own life's course of events: what you choose to believe and how strongly you believe it. Choose Your Own Adventure You may not realize it, but you have the power to create your very own self-fulfilling prophecy. You have always had this power inside you, and you have been using it unconsciously all along to create the life you have right now. It is the power of belief. Henry Ford summed up how powerful belief is when he said, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." The Benefits Of Positivity Whether your beliefs about yourself and your abilities are predominately positive or negative will play a big part in how your life turns out. If you have a generally positive belief in yourself and your abilities, then you will have a much easier time being calm and confident no matter what situations you might encounter. Any short term losses or failures will not bother you and will be seen as learning experiences. You will be much more open and receptive to opportunities as they present themselves because you will not be dwelling on your failures or perceived shortcomings. The Drawbacks Of Negativity On the other hand, if you have generally negative beliefs about yourself, then you will experience more failure, and in turn you will take each failure harder. Going into any endeavor or situation with a negative mindset does nothing to help your chances, and in some cases will doom you to failure before you even begin. There is absolutely NO benefit whatsoever to have negative beliefs about yourself or your abilities. The sooner you can rid yourself of negative and self-limiting beliefs about yourself, the sooner you can experience greater success and happiness in your life. Holding On To Negative Beliefs Is Silly The silliest thing about many negative beliefs is that you did not even consciously choose to start believing them. They were instilled in you when you were young by authority figures. Since you were young and did not yet possess the skill of discernment, you took these beliefs as truth and made them your own. You must do your best to root out these negative beliefs and release them. As a human being you have the power to choose what your beliefs are, as well as the power to rid yourself of any harmful and useless beliefs that other people may have put in your head. Become A Positive Prophet Any time you feel yourself slipping into a negative mindset, identify what belief(s) you hold about yourself that are causing the negativity. Release them from your mind and replace them with positive beliefs of your choosing. By being courageous enough to use your power to choose your own beliefs, you become your own authority figure. Removing the negative beliefs that hold you back will eliminate the detrimental effects those beliefs have on your actions and thoughts when trying to succeed. It is then that you can create and realize your own positive self-fulfilling prophecy.