“When you’re invested in a goal, being doubted by experts is a threat. They may be credible, but since they don’t recognize your potential, they’re not coaches who will help you improve. Their disbelief quickly becomes your insecurity. It shatters your confidence and stifles your growth. That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. But the research suggests that when they come from an uninformed audience, low expectations can become a self-negating prophecy. You’re motivated to shatter their confidence that you won’t succeed. Samir calls it the underdog effect.”