Last night I was flipping channels and stumbled across a seminar broadcast on PBS; I stopped because the man giving the presentation was older, bald and I thought briefly to be Stephen Covey. Covey, of course, is the Seven Habits guru of the late 20th century. This guy was not him. But it’s apparent that when you want to be a guru, you need to be old and bald. And you need to love to wear ski sweaters. I digress.
Anyway this guy gets to talking about the historical value of Lao Tzu and the message that “if you change your mind, you change your life.” OK. I’ll be changing the channel. But wait…He threw in the hook. Dr. Mindbender said something, just as I was about to click the remote, that captured my attention. He suggested that the mind could actually altar not only your outlook but also change your genetic and physical dispositions.
I sniffed; I sniffed again. I looked for the pile of dog feces in the room. But my pets had made no mess. I clearly was smelling bullshit. Or so I thought.
The further explanation was attached to the ol’ placebo effect. And the claim was that a university study (I don’t think that the university was named by the way) demonstrated that physical prowess could be changed by our thoughts. The gist of the study included a group of knee patients who agreed to traditional treatment and surgical treatments for minor but painful injuries. In the case of the surgical care, some people underwent genuine surgery. But some members of the sample simply had arthroscopic cuts made into the area complete with the in-spraying of gas to expand the joint area; then the patients were closed up without any genuine repair. The only catch is all of them were told that the surgery was a success. The non-surgery, surgery group had improvement in health commensurate with the traditional care group and nearly on par with the sample that actually underwent surgical repair. Conclusion: If you believe that you are better, you will be. The presenter went as far as to say that one especially vocal patient was doing things such as climbing and dancing regularly in spite of never being actually “fixed”. The truth was not revealed for about two years to the individuals.
Hmm. So what is being presented here is actually a belief that the Pygmalion Effect (Self-Fulfilling Prophecy) can be attached to all aspects of our lives.
I changed the channel. Heard enough.
But I have to admit that in the back of my ol’ noggin I did ponder the self-fulfilling prophecy thing. I did ponder the physical aspect of our minds. And I chose to recall a few items in my youth where both the positive and negative played their angel and devil roles to perfection.
When I was three, my parents took me to visit a psychologist. I suspect that it was at the recommendation of my pediatrician. I strangely recall playing with toys of varied sorts (Lincoln Logs and a rubber lion for certain) while a bearded, sweater-vested, pipe-smoking man observed me and conversed with my very young parents. I learned later that he requested that I be admitted for study because he perceived that I was autistic. My parents said “no thank you” and instead turned to people of prayer for my welfare. The matter was never discussed in front of me. I was encouraged to excel because I was a smart, charismatic little man. The result was an honors student, school politician and fairly pompous kid. I was not autistic, slow or socially backward outside of my awkward issues with girls. But I may have been that way if my parents and others accepted that singular diagnosis. Score 1 for positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
I was a clumsy kid and suffered a lot of falls, concussions, etc. When I started having dizzy spells and migraines at 11 or 12, I had the joy of going through a full battery of neuro tests (MRI, CT Scan, EEG). I sat in the room with my dad and the neurologist as he went through the results. There were a few anomalies in the EEG. The glitches were probably responsible for my clumsiness in my early years. And in his estimation, I probably had a very, very, very small touch of Cerebral Palsy. I could function normally without issue but it was unlikely that I would excel in sports as I aged because I would be slower or lesser in my athletic development. I walked out of there KNOWING that I would try my best to play basketball or something. But I never expected to be a very good player regardless of my efforts. I proved myself right. Score 1 for negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Finally I had a year of pure hell in elementary school wherein a group of boys decided to start their own little gang of bullies. They targeted the lesser imposing or smarter kids as victims. I was soft, had never been in a fight and had been told my entire life that I could never get in trouble at school for anything. I was the perfect target. I went home everyday bruised, red-eared from having the little terrorists on each side of me flicking away and talking shit. My self-esteem was garbage. My dad said “fight back”; my mom said “No. Let the teacher handle it”. I fought back once and was given the only black eye of my youth, along with more bruises. The other guy knew how to fight and he tore me up. I was a coward, a weakling and I was never going to be anything more. That mental state resurfaced a few months back for a brief moment. And I have been pissed ever since. Score 1 for negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those who know me know full well that I am neither autistic nor is there any reason for my not being a decent athlete even at 36 years of age. Most might be surprised to hear that I was ever bullied or beaten up by anyone. The only explanation is the man in the mirror. I am my own worst enemy. I have recently started to seek a change of attack for that enemy. I have dedicated myself to finally fulfilling my lifelong dreams of writing a book (even a bad one), having an athletic appearance, knowing how to viciously defend myself, and proving that I can be more than I am.
To that end, I have to say that Dr. Mindbender (whoever the bald man was) had a bit of relevance in his "mind over matter" philosophy. Go figure. I devalued the message until I looked in the mirror. How many of us do the same thing everyday?
Anyway this guy gets to talking about the historical value of Lao Tzu and the message that “if you change your mind, you change your life.” OK. I’ll be changing the channel. But wait…He threw in the hook. Dr. Mindbender said something, just as I was about to click the remote, that captured my attention. He suggested that the mind could actually altar not only your outlook but also change your genetic and physical dispositions.
I sniffed; I sniffed again. I looked for the pile of dog feces in the room. But my pets had made no mess. I clearly was smelling bullshit. Or so I thought.
The further explanation was attached to the ol’ placebo effect. And the claim was that a university study (I don’t think that the university was named by the way) demonstrated that physical prowess could be changed by our thoughts. The gist of the study included a group of knee patients who agreed to traditional treatment and surgical treatments for minor but painful injuries. In the case of the surgical care, some people underwent genuine surgery. But some members of the sample simply had arthroscopic cuts made into the area complete with the in-spraying of gas to expand the joint area; then the patients were closed up without any genuine repair. The only catch is all of them were told that the surgery was a success. The non-surgery, surgery group had improvement in health commensurate with the traditional care group and nearly on par with the sample that actually underwent surgical repair. Conclusion: If you believe that you are better, you will be. The presenter went as far as to say that one especially vocal patient was doing things such as climbing and dancing regularly in spite of never being actually “fixed”. The truth was not revealed for about two years to the individuals.
Hmm. So what is being presented here is actually a belief that the Pygmalion Effect (Self-Fulfilling Prophecy) can be attached to all aspects of our lives.
I changed the channel. Heard enough.
But I have to admit that in the back of my ol’ noggin I did ponder the self-fulfilling prophecy thing. I did ponder the physical aspect of our minds. And I chose to recall a few items in my youth where both the positive and negative played their angel and devil roles to perfection.
When I was three, my parents took me to visit a psychologist. I suspect that it was at the recommendation of my pediatrician. I strangely recall playing with toys of varied sorts (Lincoln Logs and a rubber lion for certain) while a bearded, sweater-vested, pipe-smoking man observed me and conversed with my very young parents. I learned later that he requested that I be admitted for study because he perceived that I was autistic. My parents said “no thank you” and instead turned to people of prayer for my welfare. The matter was never discussed in front of me. I was encouraged to excel because I was a smart, charismatic little man. The result was an honors student, school politician and fairly pompous kid. I was not autistic, slow or socially backward outside of my awkward issues with girls. But I may have been that way if my parents and others accepted that singular diagnosis. Score 1 for positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
I was a clumsy kid and suffered a lot of falls, concussions, etc. When I started having dizzy spells and migraines at 11 or 12, I had the joy of going through a full battery of neuro tests (MRI, CT Scan, EEG). I sat in the room with my dad and the neurologist as he went through the results. There were a few anomalies in the EEG. The glitches were probably responsible for my clumsiness in my early years. And in his estimation, I probably had a very, very, very small touch of Cerebral Palsy. I could function normally without issue but it was unlikely that I would excel in sports as I aged because I would be slower or lesser in my athletic development. I walked out of there KNOWING that I would try my best to play basketball or something. But I never expected to be a very good player regardless of my efforts. I proved myself right. Score 1 for negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Finally I had a year of pure hell in elementary school wherein a group of boys decided to start their own little gang of bullies. They targeted the lesser imposing or smarter kids as victims. I was soft, had never been in a fight and had been told my entire life that I could never get in trouble at school for anything. I was the perfect target. I went home everyday bruised, red-eared from having the little terrorists on each side of me flicking away and talking shit. My self-esteem was garbage. My dad said “fight back”; my mom said “No. Let the teacher handle it”. I fought back once and was given the only black eye of my youth, along with more bruises. The other guy knew how to fight and he tore me up. I was a coward, a weakling and I was never going to be anything more. That mental state resurfaced a few months back for a brief moment. And I have been pissed ever since. Score 1 for negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those who know me know full well that I am neither autistic nor is there any reason for my not being a decent athlete even at 36 years of age. Most might be surprised to hear that I was ever bullied or beaten up by anyone. The only explanation is the man in the mirror. I am my own worst enemy. I have recently started to seek a change of attack for that enemy. I have dedicated myself to finally fulfilling my lifelong dreams of writing a book (even a bad one), having an athletic appearance, knowing how to viciously defend myself, and proving that I can be more than I am.
To that end, I have to say that Dr. Mindbender (whoever the bald man was) had a bit of relevance in his "mind over matter" philosophy. Go figure. I devalued the message until I looked in the mirror. How many of us do the same thing everyday?
In my eyes Score 1 for positive, you didn't let the dark stages in your life over take you. Instead, you started to fight back and showed others(including myself)to stand your ground and fight back against your own private hell. That makes you so much more than a weakling, or a coward. That makes you a brave warrior!
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