THE NATURE OF THE

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

© 2008- Joel Johnson

A client friend, during a recent luncheon meeting, asked, “What is the difference between two similar companies that have been in business approximately the same number of years, but one has 200 employees and the other has only 6 employees?  The smaller company owner worked just as hard, put in as many hours, tried just as hard, advertised just as much, yet for some reason the smaller company has not achieved as much as the larger company in a similar market.  Why?”

Being as intelligent as he is, I first thought he was either asking a loaded question or was about to tell a new joke he had recently heard.  But, because we cannot normally hide our true feelings that show so glaringly in our faces, his expression told me he was sincere and wanted an answer.  Of course he knew the obvious answer, yet the obvious answer “more customers” did not satisfy his hunger to know what he believed was a more profound and deeper answer than just “more customers”.  The larger company would need more customers than the smaller company in order to support its overhead, which is obvious, but what could be holding back the smaller company from being just as prosperous?

My answer was we tend to obtain in life those things we “have to have”.  If you don’t have to have it, you probably won’t.  If you look back on your life and review in your mind all the things that you “just had to have” and then review all the things you now possess, most likely you already have those things that you “really had to have”. Think about it!   If you didn’t have to have them, but merely “wished” you had them then you probably don’t have them and may never have them.

This conversation with my friend/client reminded me of the nature of personal premises (Adams, J.D. 1988, Creating Ideal Personal Futures; Using the self-fulfilling prophecy).  The term “personal premises” can be used to include all our cognitive processes; our beliefs, assumptions, values, expectations, and general outlook.  Although we are not aware of many of these elements in our daily lives, they operate on nonconscious levels to strongly influence the degree to which we are able to achieve results and succeed in our endeavors.

The well-known term “self-fulfilling prophecy” (Merton- 1948) suggests that whatever one holds in one’s mind (even subconsciously) tends to occur in one’s life.  In other words, whatever we dwell on expands.  If we dwell on problems, we find more problems; if we dwell on happiness, we find more happiness.  These premises become self-reinforcing in that the more often one of them “comes true,” the more absolute it becomes and the less subject it is to question. 

Premises become self-limiting as they become more absolute because they cause us to process experiences selectively in order to support existing premises.  Thus, for example, if we believe that we cannot lose weight or do not have time to exercise, we have created artificial limitations that block out certain possibilities.  It is far more responsible to tell ourselves that we will not lose weight or make time to exercise.  This language also is a more accurate description of reality.

We also set ourselves up for frustration and disappointment by allowing “shoulds” to govern our lives: “My boss should always be fair with me” or “I should do all my work without mistakes.”  These “shoulds” can lead to unrealistic expectations of ourselves or others and to dysfunctional behaviors.  Beliefs leading to healthier reactions might be “I react maturely even when my boss is unfair” or “I am a competent person even though I am human and sometimes make mistakes.”

One theory of why this happens is that the mind operates much like a computer that takes every input quite literally.  Whatever the “software” tells it to do, it does, and one’s behavior is subtly affected.  If we continue to believe as we always have believed, we will continue to act as we always have acted.  Furthermore, if we continue to act as we always have acted, we will continue to get what we always have gotten.

Having a clear sense of one’s purpose in life is another key element to attaining the results that one wants to attain.  An individual who is aware of his or her purpose is better able to select goals and to focus efforts in areas that serve that purpose.

Whereas expectancy theory is based on the person’s expectation of a reward for effort, the self-fulfilling prophecy is based on a belief that something can or will be done.  The power of belief reaches across individuals, groups, and organizations.  If an individual, a group or team, or an organization believes that something is true or can be achieved that belief contributes to the self-fulfilling prophecy.

The key to power of belief in affecting performance seems to be the synergistic combination of belief and effort.  Expectation of success stimulates and reinforces effort.  Just as one tends to steer a car in the direction that one is looking, if one is focused on fear of failure, effort is diminished.  If one is focused on anticipation of success, effort is enhanced.  Thus, the effect of positive “self-talk” and positive managerial support on performance and achievement should not be underestimated.