Low expectations lead to low performance. High expectations lead to high performance.
This is why a doctor should be careful with stuff like “he’s declining so rapidly, he’ll die within a week”. It will cause the family to sit at his bedside projecting low expectations which reduce his chances of recovery. If the doctor is pessimistic and doesn’t wish to give false hope he could say “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure. He needs a whole lot more care, we’ll have to wait and see”. It’s not up to the doctor to declare death before the fact.
Sometimes it’s necessary to remove yourself from others low expectations of you. Some employees switch companies and suddenly perform much better because their new boss and colleagues have no memories of their past poor performance.
Modern psychology has a word for this called “The Golem Effect” (look it up), which is defined as “a psychological phenomenon where low expectations from a supervisor or self lead to reduced performance”.
The political tool called “Affirmative Action”, where “people of color” are given career and education advantages is destructive because it projects low expectations on people based on skin-color. Implemented under the guise of anti-racism or balancing out past grievances, it’s really just another form of racism but with lipstick on. In their heart, nobody wants to gain advantage based on skin color, but on their own merit. One of many negative consequences was that any “person of color” with a job was suspected of having gained their position not on merit but as a handout. Can you imagine the damage done through this thought alone? While racism, tribalism and group-think are real issues in society, “affirmative action” is not the right way to address these problems, quite the contrary.
One could argue that putting high expectations on people puts them under pressure. There is a fine line between positive expectation and pressure, only solved by nuance:
Don’t project expectations you sense the person isn’t cut out for. It depends on WHO you are talking to. There was an 80 year old who wanted to get young again. I didn’t say “Yes, absolutely! Let’s make you a teenager!”
Certain biological pre-sets and his own rigid belief-system didn’t allow for it.
So I said “I can help you stay healthy and lead a meaningful life to old age, but I’m not offering a fountain of youth”. He declined my help, insisting on the fountain of youth. Had he read my book “The Upscaling Method” he’d know why I recommended he learn to walk before he learns to run.
I read the story of a doctor who was treating a man in rapid decline from “terminal” cancer. But this doctor was experimental. He said to the family “It doesn’t look good right now, but his body is recovering. He’ll be up and out of bed within weeks. He will survive!”. The whole family audibly rejoiced, a wave of relief and optimism swept through the house.
Didn’t I just speak against this type of unrealistic prognosis?
Sure. But I also said it depends on WHO you are dealing with. The doctor must have sensed that the family and patient are open to it. The man miraculously recovered within a week. The wave of positive-belief had wiped the mans body clean!
It’s a real art and skill to know when to project positive expectation or when to tone it down a little. To hit the sweet spot, neither too high nor too low. To find words that RESONATE positively. If the family and the afflicted person RESONATE, then they can VIBRATE at that frequency. A healer therefore, needs to PICK UP ON what is already there. If there is just a tiny spark of hope or belief within the person, the healer can say something that resonates with that and increase it.
