A lot of people were encouraged by a column I wrote entitled “Believe in having Faith.” I received a lot of feedback by email and text. The recurring comment was that this was the right message for the time.

I recently began thinking about messages. There are many warnings, prophecies and predictions on what the new year will bring. Majority of the messages center on impending gloom and economic downturn.  I notice that many people have allowed this perception to affect them. They have become very glum and moody, depressed about things that are still predicted to come.

I think we should not focus on negative messages but accentuate the positives. I would like to remind people of the theory of self fulfilling prophecy. The Thomas theorem states that “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”   Thomas states that we react to situations based on our perceptions and not thru the actual situations. This is one of the basis for the saying, “perception becomes reality.”

Sociologist Robert Merton added to this in his book, “Social Theory and Social Structure”, he said, “            The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come 'true'. This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.”

Simply put, if we perceive today as a bad day, we will put ourselves into that mode and due to the prejudgement, we will end up having one. Does that make sense? If I am told I cannot do it, I will already precondition my mind that I cannot, so I don’t.

Dr. Robert Rosenthal, a Harvard University psychologist conducted a very interesting social experiment to prove the theory. He tied up with a school in the poor district of San Francisco. This area is known for its crime, poverty and general sense of helplessness. He picked out 24 students at random and divided them equally into two groups. He assigned one group to a set of random teachers and told them that the students had amazing potential and it was their responsibility to nurture and develop them. The second group was assigned to another set of teachers who were told that the children lacked any real potential and that it would be difficult to develop them. He then assigned the same set of prescribed lessons and activities to each group to do.

Six months later, the results showed that the first group had developed rapidly and had indeed shown amazing potential and growth. The second group had accomplished very little and were in general, unmotivated, lazy and disillusioned. 

So this Christmas season, Lets focus on positive messages. Let us focus on the real message of Christmas. Let’s tell each other that things will and are getting better. We have survived many a crisis and we will come out of this one better and stronger. Let us be thankful for what we have.

Lets not forget the reason for the season. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So, go out and celebrate.  Wear a smile, greet everyone sincerely and warmly. Spread Christmas cheer. Renew friendships and relationships. You’re your loved ones. Show faith and confidence that things will get better. By doing so, things will. 

Lets all have a merry Christmas !

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

 For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at  stirspecialist@gmail.com ,  or visit  www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com