--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A self-fulfilling prophecy is an…" description: "\"A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of having been made, cause the expected or predicted event to occur ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/paul-watzlawick-17394_accuracy_a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-an-assumpt_579077.png" --- # A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction… ![“A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of having been made, cause the expected or predicted event to occur and thus confirms its own 'accuracy.'” quote by Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/paul-watzlawick-17394_accuracy_a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-an-assumpt_579077.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/paul-watzlawick-17394_accuracy_a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-an-assumpt_579077.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/paul-watzlawick-17394_accuracy_a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-an-assumpt_579077.png) > “A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of having been made, cause the expected or predicted event to occur and thus confirms its own 'accuracy.'” [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An expectation can cause itself to become true through influencing behavior. **In simple terms:** Expectations can shape reality. Key Takeaway Be aware of how predictions affect actions. Themes psychology self-fulfilling expectations Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - team meetings - market forecasts - personal goals - education settings Key Concepts cognitive bias self-fulfilling prophecy Questions to Reflect On - How do your expectations shape your decisions? - Can you identify a self‑fulfilling prophecy in your life? A Different Perspective If the prediction is wrong, it may still alter behavior negatively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accuracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuracy/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Prediction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prediction/) [Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophecy/) [Self fulfilling prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-fulfilling-prophecy/) ## Related quotes > [Life is self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/life-is-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Pessimism is not only unwarranted, it is also a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think the cause is lost, it will be. No one works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-reed/pessimism-is-not-only-unwarranted-it-is-also-a-self-fulfilling/) [Lawrence Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-reed/) > [Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/pessimism-becomes-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-it-reproduces-itself-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [...you can't let something that'll probably never happen ruin your life. You're only helping to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-khoury/you-can-t-let-something-that-ll-probably-never-happen-ruin-your-life/) [Raymond Khoury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-khoury/) > [The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-merton/the-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-in-the-beginning-a-false-definition/) [Robert K. Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-merton/) > [Every theory is a self-fulfilling prophecy that orders experience into the framework it provides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-hubbard/every-theory-is-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-that-orders-experience/) Ruth Hubbard > [Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/whatever-we-expect-with-confidence-becomes-our-own-self-fulfilling/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I have great faith in optimism as a guiding principle, if only because it offers us the opportunity of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-have-great-faith-in-optimism-as-a-guiding-principle-if-only-because/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [It was almost as if I had a right to win. Thinking like that often seems to turn into sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/it-was-almost-as-if-i-had-a-right-to-win-thinking-like-that-often/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Al Gore is producing enough hot air to make his doomsday predictions about global warming a self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-farah/al-gore-is-producing-enough-hot-air-to-make-his-doomsday-predictions/) [Joseph Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-farah/) > [Oppression has no logic--just a self-fulfilling prophecy, justified by a self-perpetuating system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/oppression-has-no-logic-just-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-justified-by/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Self-doubt is a self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/self-doubt-is-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [The belief in the inevitability of war is a self-fulfilling prophecy... We need an alternative vision, to see the world as one, as interconnected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-belief-in-the-inevitability-of-war-is-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Optimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/optimism-is-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [ \[Optimism\] acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/optimism-acts-as-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## More by Paul Watzlawick > [This is the secret of propaganda: To totally saturate the person, whom the propaganda wants to lay hold of, with the ideas of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/this-is-the-secret-of-propaganda-to-totally-saturate-the-person-whom/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“In fact, it seems that the more spontaneous and "healthy" a relationship, the more the relationship aspect of communication recedes into the background.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/in-fact-it-seems-that-the-more-spontaneous-and-healthy-a-relationship/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“It is not the issue here wether punctuation of communicational sequence is, in general, good or bad, as it should be immediately obvious that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/it-is-not-the-issue-here-wether-punctuation-of-communicational/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [The suicide arrives at the conclusion that what he is seeking does not exist; the seeker concludes that what he has not yet looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/the-suicide-arrives-at-the-conclusion-that-what-he-is-seeking-does/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [It is difficult to imagine how any behavior in the presence of another person can avoid being a communication of one's own view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/it-is-difficult-to-imagine-how-any-behavior-in-the-presence-of/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Frank Farrelly. . .must be thought of with respect (perhaps even delight?) by his clients who have so far played the game of therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/frank-farrelly-must-be-thought-of-with-respect-perhaps-even-delight/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Radical constructivism, thus, is radical because it breaks with convention and develops a theory of knowledge in which knowledge does not reflect an 'objective'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/radical-constructivism-thus-is-radical-because-it-breaks-with/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Man never ceases to seek knowledge about the objects of his experiences, to understand their meaning for his existence and to react to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/man-never-ceases-to-seek-knowledge-about-the-objects-of-his/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Maturity is doing what you think is best, even when your mother thinks it's a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/maturity-is-doing-what-you-think-is-best-even-when-your-mother-thinks/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“The trouble is that everybody, myself included, has a brain in which the centers concerned with reason and logic are sitting on top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-myself-included-has-a-brain-in-which/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [If we have dwelled on Godel's work at some length, is it because we see it in the mathematical analogy of what we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/if-we-have-dwelled-on-godel-s-work-at-some-length-is-it-because-we/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [For an answer which cannot be expressed the question too cannot be expressed. 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Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Am I accurately reporting what I see in such a blossom? The answer is no ... and yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-lacy/am-i-accurately-reporting-what-i-see-in-such-a-blossom-the-answer-is/) [Allen Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-lacy/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Without much accuracy, with strangely little love at all, your family will decide for you exactly who you are, and they'll keep nudging, coaxing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-gurganus/without-much-accuracy-with-strangely-little-love-at-all-your-family/) [Allan Gurganus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-gurganus/) > [The federal government is starting to plan for climate change by making extended forecasts that can help people plan for extreme weather - because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/the-federal-government-is-starting-to-plan-for-climate-change-by/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. 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