We’ll Never Survive! - WISER Newsletter

The Power of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

February 18, 2023

Hello 1,200+ friends, it’s Zac here!

If you missed Michael’s post yesterday across the socials, then allow me to introduce myself. I am Zac, Michael’s new business partner. Wisdom Made Easy has grown massively, and with all the aspirations, Michael needed some support to achieve his lofty goals of making the world a wiser place. So here I am getting stuck in to help develop and expand our reach and catalogue of wise things for you to enjoy! What a privilege to join this wonderful community.

Thanks for checking out this issue of the WISER Newsletter!

Let’s get WISER together!

🙅‍♂️ We’ll never survive! 😱

“We’ll never survive!”

“Nonsense. You’re only saying that because no one ever has.”

This is a little exchange, quoted from The Princess Bride, which is without a doubt, my favourite film. Definitely worth a watch if you want a bit of silliness, mixed with some fantastic quotable moments and a smidge of surprising depth.

If you want to watch it (I really think you should), find it in the link below.

This line stood out to me as an important topic to discuss here. As my introduction to you, I wanted something that had a bit of humour, but equally made a point that we could all take into our everyday lives - can’t argue with that, can you?

So, the mindset Westley has displayed here, calling out an entrenched mindset as nonsense, is one we can learn from.

🧠 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 🤯

The opposite of this “Westley mindset” is the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. The human mind is incredible at reinforcing whatever it is surrounded by, known as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, a phrase coined in 1948 by Robert K. Merton, also known as the interpersonal expectancy effect. In short, whatever we as individuals or a group repeat to ourselves,can and will bring into effect that result.

We can spend weeks worrying about a meeting, event or new experience, convincing ourselves it will be awful, and then usually it is exactly that.

But if we spend those same weeks, excited, ready for something new and ready to experience what happens, we can find that same event would actually be much more pleasant, and we can get much more out of it, or contribute a far greater amount than we otherwise would have done.

Which Cycle Would You Rather Be In?

Which Cycle Would You Rather Be In?

Although self-fulfilling prophecies are often used to refer to personal circumstance, they can manifest in a variety of ways. Robert K. Merton was most interested in understanding how the phenomenon plays out in racial prejudice and discrimination. He noted that people with racial prejudices were likely to treat people of other races in a way that led to a confirmation of their prejudices.

🤔 How Can We Affect, Use or Harness This? 🤷‍♂️

Be aware. The first thing is to recognise if this is a pattern you find yourself in, if you know that you get in your own head about the future (good or bad), then that's half the battle. Knowing yourself is key! Understanding that your unconscious bias may influence your day to day interaction gives you an opportunity to make a change.

Journaling. I am by no means the journaling master/advocate that Michael is, that's something I am working on myself. But I can say with certainty that journaling, as a way to get out of your own head, is fantastic. Putting pen to paper (metaphorically or not) gives you the opportunity to rationalise, and you help you realise that the outcomes you are dwelling on are usually completely unfounded.

I am just going to take a second to remind you all that Michaels 'Wise Guide to Journaling E-Book is in its final stages and primed for release, so if you are keen to learn more about journaling and the benefits, then keep an eye on upcoming newlsetters for that date announcement.

Fake it ‘til you make it! Every time you choose positivity and a different way of thinking, is a time closer to eliminating that unwanted mindset, so keep at it! Remind yourself daily, and don’t be too hard on yourself! New ways of thinking will never come easy, but the rewards could be untold!

Accountability. Keeping your mindset in check is a simple thing to say, and difficult in practice, so accountability is essential. Get yourself a friend: in-person, online, a therapist, a pastor, whoever you might trust. Talk to them, set up check in times, where they can speak truth into how you feel or view yourself. This will be the biggest driver for success in changing your mindset!

🤨 Is it Always Negative? 🚫

Absolutely not! Another common interpretation of a Self Fulfilling Prophecy, known as the placebo effect, is the idea that your brain is so powerful that a fake medical treatment can have real life positive influence over certain illnesses. If you are immensely positive, and your life more closely reflects a contact placebo, then I envy you, hold onto that positivity, share it and spread that!

So my challenge to you this week is to “Be more Westley” - Call out the Nonsense! And bring some heroic positivity to your life… Maybe learn to fence while you are at it…

❓ How can you affect change to mindset in your life?

  • What is something you are stuck on in your own head at the moment?

  • Do you think you need or want to set up an accoutability partner in your life?

  • Can you think of a time where you brought about change to a situaton with nothing but you own mindset?

  • Do you see this as a powerful mindset or a load of old rubbish?

✍️ Consider journalling through the above questions yourself.

💬 Also, if you want to chat about this, email or DM us! We’d love to hear from you!

Recommendations

1️⃣ Now this recommendation is not a new one if you have been paying attention to some of Michael’s previous posts on various platforms: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

This is a book that has impacted both of our lives in many ways so it has to be put in as an official recommendation here in my first newsletter.

This is a book written with a faith-based lens, but I truly believe even if that isn't your thing, John Mark Comer’s message about the busyness and frantic nature of our lives in the modern day will be beneficial to you.

If you’d like to hear more about how you can stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaose of the modern world, pick up your own copy here:

2️⃣ This second recommendation ties in with the reference above to get on and give journalling a go: Moleskine Cahier Notebooks.

These are the journals used extensively by Michael, and as a beginner by myself (Zac).

A perfectly formed pocketsize notebook, these will give you the ability to put pen to paper easily on the go! (Especially when combined with Michael’s recommendation last week for the Fischer Space Pen, check out last weeks issue here if you missed it!)

If you want to grab yourself your own, find yours here:

And a repeat of Michaels Space Pen recommendation just in case:

* Please note that these may be affiliation links. Purchasing through these links could support Wisdom Made Easy encourage more people to get wiser.

✍️ What We’re Working On

With myself and Michael now both invested in Wisdom Made Easy, we are working away in the background to bring loads of new projects and updates to you and the rest of the community with a bang!

We are building a new website that will help us deal with enquiries for custom visual work more easily, give you and the rest of our community a bit more background on us as people, and be a central hub for the all our future projects. 👀This will include a store front where you will be able to find the Wiser Guide To Journaling E-Book and other resources we are working on, to bring wisdom in your homes and workplaces.

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😊 Thank You!

Thanks for checking out this issue of the WISER Newsletter. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear it!

Simply reply to this email, and we will get back to you.

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Catch you in the next issue!

Thanks,

Michael and Zac!