Self-fulfilling prophecy

Have you ever noticed that something you predicted became a reality? Was it a bad or a good experience? Today I want to tell you about such notion as self-fulfilling prophecy. It is when a person expects either positive or a negative thing to happen, then he behaves according to his assumptions and beliefs. Eventually, he gets the result that he thought he would get.

For example, when we meet new people we have different opinions about them. If we hear some not nice gossips about a person, we immediately suppose that this very person is going to badly influence our community. As a result, he gets very anxious that everyone around him acts very strangely and shows his anger towards this awkward attitude to him. Obviously, the rumors about this person are confirmed after that.

Sometimes one can be so nervous about some important events in his life that it can lead to unpleasant consequences and failures. For instance, I remember that I was going to write a Math test one day. I prepared for this test, however I already felt unconfident about my skills and knowledge and expected the worst. While I was doing the test, my hands were trembling, my mind was clouded… I could not do my best, unfortunately.  What if I thought I could pass the test successfully? I guess that I would have done it better.

Stage fright seems to be one of the most frequently met fears among many people. Some prefer to choose to do anything rather than giving a talk in front of the audience. For better or for worse, self-fulfilling prophecy is closely related with stage fright and public speaking. I noticed that when I think that my public speech will be a disaster, it really comes true. I forget words of my speech even though I put effort in learning it, I start to mumble, speak in a very low voice, avoid eye-contact with the listeners. However, if this prophecy really works, why not to try to think in a more positive way?

 

In my opinion, people who have stage fright should work on their self-esteem. For sure, it is not easy to accept all you mistakes and improve speaking skills very quickly. I reckon, this is all about our mind and perception of ourselves. I’ve seen many individuals who did not spend much time on preparation, but performed very well or gave a speech on the spot better than those who really put effort into it. The secret of their successful public speeches was their confidence and their belief in themselves. They encourage and remind themselves that they are talented, they should not be afraid of the audience. On the contrary, they consider public speaking as a perfect chance to show everyone their incredible personality, to share with others their ideas. That is why I suppose that everyone should try to find their strengths instead of being anxious about their drawbacks. Nobody is perfect, but it is possible to make your performance better if you predict that it is going to be alright.

That is it for today’s post. What do you think of self-fulfilling prophecy? Do you feel stage fright? Let me know down in the comments below!