Act First: Think Later

In my previous blog, the study conveyed that the outcome of an event may be directly related to how a person believes that event will turn out. It made me wonder if it could be incorporated to several aspects of my own life that I had never otherwise considered. For instance, I assumed that I would not like any of the food in the dining hall before going there. Once I got there, I found the food to be quite unappetizing. Another example may be if I hear a rumor about a particular guy. I automatically assume these rumors to be true and figure that I will not like him, even though I have not met him yet! The first time I meet him, I will most likely already have a negative attitude towards him. Both of these examples are of me believing that a particular outcome will happen, which results in them becoming true.

If I did not have any "prediction beliefs" would the results of the outcome differ? Would I find something appetizing to eat at the dining hall or perhaps find myself a new friend? I find that the cycle goes round and round because it is difficult to not have preconceived notions about practically everything in life from thinking you will look nice in an outfit to believing that all blondes are dumb. Also, I believe that the tendency to have set preconceived beliefs on situations increases as we get older. If you think about it, children do not like or dislike something until they have tried it. They will usually not dispute eating peas until they have tried them and then later decide that the taste is either no good or good. An older child who has never tried peas may decide they will not like peas because they know it is a vegetable or by the way it smells or looks. This is just a simple example, but you can see where I am going with this but on a much broader spectrum. Children take liking to any person who is nice to them and treat them with respect. Isn't that how it should be?

Perhaps we should try to retreat to our child-like way of thinking. This may seem far-fetched, I know, but having preconceived notions on particular subjects may cause us to miss out on a whole slew of opportunities that are right under our noses. We may pass up a great job opportunity or look over the chance to have an awesome friendship. Being open-minded also goes along the lines of optimism. If you believe in the positive side of a certain situation, then a positive result will most likely be the result.