Positive Expectations Lead to Positive Outcomes
We want to take a look at our belief systems and how they might be influencing our healing and even the goals we set for ourselves.
Research has shown that the idea behind the self-fulfilling prophecy is true. People who believe they will succeed put in more effort. They are more willing to try new things, take some risks & keep trying after failures or setbacks. People with negative attitudes take the first failure or setback as confirmation that whatever they are trying will not work or is not possible and give up. Why waste time and effort on something that is doomed to failure anyway?
Research on the attitudes of rehabiliation patients show this to be true in recovery as well. A review of 23 articles looking at the outcomes for shoulder pain found a few interesting things. First, patients who expected to recover and believed that they had some control over the outcome, ended up doing better than those who didn’t. Second, optimistic patients were found to have less pain & disability after completing rehab. Third, patients who believed they would have pain and disability after surgery tended to have – you guessed it – pain and disability after their surgery!
Attitudes are important. Two psychologists, Rosenthal & Jacobs, did a study that found teacher expectations had an influence on student performance. They told teachers that randomly selected students in their classes were tested and found to be “late bloomers”. These students were expected to show large improvements in their academic performance during the school year. When the students were tested 8 months later, the students the teachers believed would improve the most, did.
Maybe this is a good time to check in on your current belief systems? Are you currently recovering from an injury or surgery? What goals have you set for yourself this year? Remember a self-fulfilling prophecy has been shown to be true. A positive expectation can lead to a positive outcome. When you expect a good outcome, you usually get one.
Speaking of positive outcomes, maybe this is the year to check in on your health goals. Schedule an appointment with one of our highly educated & trained physical therapists at any of our 5 locations statewide and let’s start making your health goals a reality!
Adapted from the January 2022 Toolkit from the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, www.ppsapta.org.