The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, is the phenomenon whereby the greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform.
Years ago, researchers conducted an experiment on schoolchildren. The researchers told the teachers that some students were gifted and others were not. They gave the teachers a list of the top 20%, but the catch was that the students were randomly assigned. (It wasn’t based on IQ at all and there wasn’t really a “top 20%.”) At the end of the year the students who were classified as “top 20” blasted the others out of the water.
We were talking about this concept in my Precision Nutrition class and it didn’t take me long to think of a few times when I felt teachers and/or bosses expected a lot out of me. I worked my butt off, expected a lot out of myself and usually succeeded in beating my goals and surpassing my bosses (and my own) expectations.
On the flip side, it didn’t take much time for me to come up with some examples of when I felt like it really didn’t matter how well I did on a task or at my job. In those times I didn’t feel that anyone was expecting me to succeed. Despite the fact that my personality has me always shooting to do the best I can, I started to adopt the attitude of “just do enough” in a few of these cases because I felt so strongly that my performance didn’t matter. No one was expecting me to succeed, I stopped expecting myself to succeed, and guess what happened? Eh, nothing great.
Now, as a personal trainer and nutrition coach, I have a few clients who’ve been absolute rockstars. They do way better than simply just accomplishing their strength and/or fat loss goals. In fact, they transform their bodies and lives.
This concept helped me to see something really important as a coach. My clients who blow their goals out of the water are often the clients I believe in right from the start. That’s right, I made up my mind that they could and would be successful before they even start training.
Coincidence? Maybe not.
Studies show that our expectations – for ourselves and for others – are powerful. If you set realistic goals and continuously picture yourself achieving these goals you’ll be more successful and chances are you’ll accomplish everything you want, just like the kids in the research experiment!
Keep in mind, the same clients I believe in from the beginning also usually come to me with great attitudes, realistic goals and a positive mindset. They want to change something and they know they can do it.
Here’s the thing…most of us will achieve our expectations, good or bad.
People who tend to have a positive self-image and believe they are capable of achieving anything they set out to achieve are usually more likely to do so.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should set ridiculously high expectations. In fact, too high or inappropriate expectations can also kill success! For example, you shouldn’t expect that you’ll be banging out 15 pull-ups if you can’t do any right now or that you’ll wear a size 2 when you’re 5’10” and have been a size 14 for most of your life. If you don’t think there’s enough of a chance you’ll achieve your goal, you may get overwhelmed and lose motivation.
Work with a coach to set some realistic goals and expectations. For instance, instead of committing to exercising every day when you’ve been avoiding the gym for 10 years, shoot to make it to the gym 2 or 3 times a week to start. Instead of committing to eating only “clean” foods all the time, start your day with a shake instead of a bagel 90% of the time.
Practice self-compassion and continuously remind yourself that you can succeed and you’ll likely be fitting into those skinny jeans before you know it.
If you have a negative self-image and expect failure, you will most likely achieve much less than your full potential. If you expect that you’ll start a new diet (ewww…that word) and fail or that you will never be able to do a pull-up…congratulations, you’ll probably never lose those last ten pounds and you’ll probably never do a pull-up. If you believe you’re worthless, you’ll likely end up with many self-imposed limitations.
In summary…
- It seems that if I expect more out of my clients, they will get better results. {Ahhh mind blown. Must start expecting success even more often.}
- If you expect more out of yourself, you’ll be more successful. Start believing in yourself.
- Set an achievable, but still awesome, goal.
- See yourself as a fit person and you will become one!
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