I Give Out Fortunes, Not Cookies!

Sometimes the outcome of a situation comes down to how we think something is going to happen. This is called a Self-fulfilling Prophecy. This means that preconceived notions about the outcome of something within a person's control directly affect the outcome of said situation.

For example, if there is a young boy in your community who comes from a less than upstanding family, people in your community may treat him as though he were a criminal even if he's never done anything amiss.

Day after day he is treated like a thief despite never having stolen as much as a stick of gum. One day he's in a store. He sees something he desperately wants but doesn't have enough money. Maybe he consciously thinks, "I may as well. People already think I would." Or maybe he doesn't think along those lines at all. Either way, because of social pressure telling him that he is a thief, he probably becomes one.

While Self-fulfilling Prophecies can be the work of the Devil, they are not necessarily bad. Once understood, they can be used to influence the future toward the best possible outcome.

From Brainy Gamer

A young girl in your community comes from a very poor and ill-educated family. At a young age she shows an aptitude for the arts. Her parents want better for her and, even though they cannot really afford the expense, buy her a set of paints and some rough paper.

When she enters school, the art teacher (who is used to five year old children with the artistic ability of snails) is taken aback by the girl's use of color. Her drawing is messy, but something in it speaks of amazing talent. As she grows up, people encourage her to draw and paint and learn pastels and use charcoal.

With all these people giving her positive feedback about her art, the chances that she will embrace the brightly lit artistic future laid before her is pretty darn good.

So what does this mean to the Survival Diva?

Because the nature of these particular prophecies are completely within our control, it means that we can influence how our intrepid band of survivors sees their future. If the group is negative (we'll never survive!) chances are good that the group will perish. However, the flip side of that coin is that if they are positive, the odds of survival and eventually thriving in the brave new world of Mutant Slug Armies is way higher.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments!

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