It is a mirror that, when we dare to look at it head-on, gives us something that we sometimes forget:
Our capacity, power and purpose.
I was 18 years old when I discovered the Pygmalion effect. It was an age in which freedom fell short and rebellion exploded in my hands. I got into trouble, crossed boundaries, and defended irreverence as if it were my identity.
But, in the midst of that chaos, there was a truth: I wanted to create, I wanted to communicate, I wanted to write. And no one seemed to understand it, so I turned to the person who always saw in me what I was beginning to intuit: that person was my grandfather, I told him my wishes, my desire to study at a school that was not in anyone’s plans, except mine, he listened to me with such pure attention that he gave me all the confidence to express my arguments very clearly and he understood that What I clung to was not a whim… it was how I projected my life in the future and that’s how it was.
I remember his gaze: firm and warm, today I understand that it was me projected into him.
And then, his voice saying the word that changed everything: “I believe in you. Now go and do it.
He spoke to my parents, stopped the battle and opened a path for me that I would not have been able to open alone. A few weeks later he was living at home, a few blocks from the university.
And there began my professional life studying and working, only then the energy that overwhelmed me took shape, time and everything began to be perfect.
I have been fortunate to attract people whose very presence works as a beacon. Guides that my soul recognizes before my mind, my reminder now is to recognize my own light and hold it.
I have also learned to look at others with that same intention and let them know that I believe in them and remind them of their greatness when they have forgotten it. Above all, be very aware of children and adolescents.
Sometimes we just need a pause to thank those who continue to support us and also to look at those who we support.
From psychology, the Pygmalion effect explains how the positive expectations that others have of us shape our behavior and our achievements.
Seen from the soul, it is even deeper: it is the moment when someone looks at you and, without realizing it, recognizes you. It reflects your own light.
Loving expectations are energy, they work like prayers that stay in your field, like invisible hands that lift you up when life weighs you down.
When someone believes in you, your faith expandsand so, the Pygmalion effect becomes a dance between looks, trust and destiny, a way in which the universe chooses people to remind you of who you are.
Today I greatly value those looks that, after so many years, continue to teach me.
Pygmalion sculpted a work that came to life, we can also sculpt ourselves with our expectations, our affirmations and our inner faith.
What you believe, believe.
Trusting your process becomes a sacred act, and a responsibility is also born:
Affectionately, because what we project onto others can drive or limit them. A word, an intention or a look can become a bridge or a barrier.
Being aware of that makes us more human and loving, so when your mind doubts, return to that look that held you, the one that did not see what you had… but what you truly are.
Come back to her… and come back to you.
With love: Marcela.
Room: marceladelosriosv@gmail.com
X: @DeLos53271
FB: Marcela de los Ríos