Seek and ye shall find

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11:9 (KJV)

  I believe in self-fullfilling prophecies. The term self-fullfilling prophecy, coined by a sociologist named Robert K, Merton, is defined as a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. I believe that if you think you’re going to fail at something you will act accordingly, thus getting your wish. You might end up saying to yourself, ‘see, I knew I would fail.” I also believe that if you think you’re going to succeed at something, you will act accordingly, like a winner, and will most likely get your wish.

About 12 years ago, a company I worked for, was bought by a larger company. We all had to re-apply for our jobs, knowing that the 25 people in my department would be applying for 15 of those jobs. Having been employed at the company for 4 years, I was one of the newest employees. My coworkers who were my mentors, had been there at least 10 or more years, and I knew they would get to keep their jobs. I was sure I would be one of the people that would be let go, but I loved the job and I banished negative thinking from my mind and I acted accordingly. And I prayed. I acted like I wanted my job, and in doing so, I came to my interviews in a suit (though we were told we could wear our business casual clothes) and I brought my briefcase which contained resumes (though we were told to bring our in-house job applications), because I wanted to show them I was serious by doing something no one else thought of doing. I not only ended up being one of the 15 employees to keep my job, but those who were mentoring me were laid off. They were surprised. And they were upset. A few months later, I felt comfortable enough to ask the Director what was it about me that stood out to her, and she told me that when I walked in the office wearing my suit, when everyone else wore loose fitting shirts and khakis, she knew I was serious and that I wanted to keep my job, and she knew she was going to let me keep it, but she had to go along with the interview process.

An example of a self-fulfilling prophecy can be found in Greek Literature. Regarding the story of Oedipis.Warned that his child would one day kill him,Lauis abandoned his newborn son Oedipus to die, but Oedipus was found and raised by others, and thus in ignorance of his true origins. When he grew up, Oedipus was warned that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Believing his foster parents were his real parents, he left his home and traveled Greece, eventually reaching the city where his biological parents lived. There, he got into a fight with a stranger, his real father, killed him and married his widow, Oedipus's real mother.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…” Matthew 7:7 (KJV)