Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Another case of what goes around comes around

Because we exist in a sufficiently closed system, there are a number of times in our daily lives that  what goes around does indeed come around.  Sometimes that can be good, sometimes not so good.  A self-fulfilling prophesy is one of those things that can go both ways, and it is a very good example of things going around that come around.

...and what that can do is make was we predict turn out to be real, sometime for the better and sometimes for the worst.  In other words...

Definition:  As we so often do, let's begin with a definition.

Self-fulfilling prophecy: A prediction about the future that affects present behavior such that it causes the prediction to come true.   In other words, what we predict can result in a reality that we experience which confirms the prediction.  It's a way we shape reality as we experience it.

If the prediction is positive, it can result in a positive outcome, and if it is negative, it can result in a negative outcome.  Here are examples of both:

Moral of the story: We can affect, even change, the realities we encounter by predicting outcomes, then behaving as if these outcomes have occurred before they actually do.

This is more than slightly important, because it helps us understand why positive things like hope and optimism can ultimately be beneficial, even when they are not, at times, fully realized, and why negative things like despair and pessimism can be very detrimental, even when they are not, at times, fully realized.

It is our opinion, for example, that when it comes to gun owners who are fearful of having their guns taken away, their prediction that this can and will happen leads them to behaving in ways (e.g., working to prevent any efforts to improve gun control) that may indeed lead to having their guns taken away.  Mental health is a big issue in the world of guns, and such paranoia can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

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