Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Self-Fulfilling prophecy is a tough concept to understand. But if you can tap into your capabilities and then see and understand the potential you have. Then, remember the reasons you have to believe in yourself, you will in fact conquer your biggest fears and accomplish what you say you can.

But the opposite is true all the time. If you say you "Can't" then you most definitely will not.

William Purkey tells a great little allegory concerning the value of feeling good about ourselves:

A mouse ran into the office of the Educational Testing Service and accidentally triggered a delicate point in the apparatus just as the College Entrance Examination Board’s data on one Henry Carson was being scored.
Henry was an average high-school student who was unsure of himself and his abilities. Had it not been for the mouse, Henry’s score would have been average or less, but the mouse changed all that, for the scores that emerged from the computer were amazing—800s in both the verbal and quantitative areas.

When the scores reached Henry’s school, the word of his giftedness spread like wildfire. Teachers began to re-evaluate their gross under-estimation of this fine lad, counselors trembled at the thought of neglecting such talent, and even college admissions officers began to recruit Henry for their schools.
New worlds opened for Henry, and as they opened he started to grow as a person and as a student. Once he became aware of his potentialities and began to be treated differently by the significant people in his life, a form of self-fulfilling prophecy took place. Henry began to put his mind in the way of great things. . . Henry became one of the best men of his generation.

We can apply this concept to our every day life and business in simple ways. When we have a week, a day, an hour, or a conversation that goes bad we will begin to "Self-talk" at an alarming rate and in that moment we have a tendency to say some negative things about ourselves, our abilities, our products, our ideas, or our companies. Of course none of these things are usually true but in that moment that couldn't be more real.

Using a simple tool called "Affirmations" is an easy and simple way to combat the negative self talk that could arise during a work day.

Affirmations are an expression of the person you know you need to be to achieve the results you want.
An affirmation is a self-fulfiling prophecy that should be placed in a place you can read them daily- in the car- in the bathroom- at your desk - on the office wall- etc.

"I am a great sales person"
"I like to eat healthy"
"I make 500 k a year"
"LIfe is Good"
"Today is an awesome day"

Let me encourage you to write 3 and only 3 affirmations on a 3 x 5 card and read it 3 times a day.

Use the following criteria to write a great affirmation:
-Make it 1st person
-Present tense
-Positive
-Within your realm of belief

I know most of us automatically picture the Saturday night Live Skit and think this can sound a little hokus pokus, but it works. And in my world if it works and gets results then it has value.

I dare you to try it and watch your self talk, self image, and results change for the better!

After all life IS Good and it's just getting better!

- Enjoy Life Today!
Jon Bohm

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