Once Sir Francis Galton, one of the most notable figures in the history of psychology, decided to conduct a kind of experiment. Before his daily walk through the streets of London, he persuaded himself: “I am a disgusting person and everyone in England hates me!” After that, he concentrated on this belief for a few minutes and then went for a walk as he usually did.
However, it just seemed that everything was going as usual. In fact, the following happened: at every step, Francis caught queasy and contemptuous glances of passers on him. Many turned away from him, and a couple of times he heard coarse language in his address. In the port one of the movers, when Galton passed him by, hit the scientist with his elbow so much that he plopped down in the mud.
It seemed that even the animals had this hostile attitude towards him. As the scientist passed by a harnessed horse, it kicked him in the thigh, so that he fell to the ground again. Galton tried to elicit some sympathy from eyewitnesses, but to his surprise, people were on the side of the animal.
Galton hurried home, without waiting until his thought experiment would lead to even more serious consequences.
This true story is described in many psychology textbooks. From it we can draw two important conclusions:
1. People treat you according to what you think about yourself.
2. No need to inform others about your self-esteem and emotional state. Be sure that they feel it anyway.
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