Self-Fulfilling Prophecy/Quotes

One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

—Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda (taken from a Chinese proverb)

Death: There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

—Sheppey, Somerset Maugham

I was expecting to meet you in Pseudopolis.

—Discworld

My own belief is that Russian and Chinese behaviour is as much influenced by suspicion of our intentions as ours is by suspicion of theirs. This would mean that we have great influence over their behaviour - that, by treating them as hostile, we assure their hostility.

—J. William Fulbright