self-fulfilling prophecy

self-fulfilling prophecy

cliché A belief or prediction about a future outcome that alters one's or someone's behavior in such a way that it causes the outcome to come true. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy—financial analysts warned of catastrophic market failures, which caused investors to panic and sell their shares, which quickly caused a catastrophic market failure. If you convince yourself that life is nothing but misery and sorrow, you will end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy and lead a miserable life as a result.

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