This is an interesting subject.
When I was younger, my mom told me a very elaborate story about her chance meeting with a psychic. One day, when she was pregnant, she was walking towards a bus. An elderly woman chased her down and told her that she will have a boy and he will end up doing great things, or something of that nature.
She told me the whole story when I was young, and I really believed it. I always tried my best to go 110% and succeed in whatever it is I put my mind to, and this mentality is still with me today. It was as if I knew I would be successful but I'd have to try hard anyway to make sure of it and to live upto it.
Whether my mom told me the truth or not... I don't know.
Another story: About 5 years, I was very sick. I went to at least 3-4 physicians and specialists and many tests were done on me. I was given medications based on the symptoms, but for weeks nothign happened. Then one night my mom said that she spoke with a person who was 100% sure what the problem was and that person gave her the cure. She said she dissolved the pill in my tea and told me that I were to drink that tea that night I would wake up the next morning all fine. That's exactly what happened, it was almost miraculous. Several years later, she told me it was just a placebo... regular tea that she would give me every day. This is one of many stories where my mom would do things like this. Powerful stuff.
So this leads me to believe that there indeed was no such psychic (even though she still claims her story is true). Nonetheless, my "do it and succeed at it" mentality has already solidified itself irreversibly.
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