I don&#x27;t believe the two approaches conflict.<p>We&#x27;re all familiar with the possibly apocryphal experiment of five monkeys, a ladder, and an electric shock - with the end of the experiment being five monkeys that have never been shocked, but their behaviour is changed.   I think we all like to think we&#x27;ve evolved above this kind of manipulation, though I also suspect we each have stories of having worked in professional environments, staffed by evidently smart people, where we observe this same phenomenon.<p>(Aside -- it&#x27;s sobering to consider that the people we&#x27;ve worked with may have stories about such effects operating upon <i>us</i>.)<p>Anyway, point being that while you may be correct in the assertion:<p><pre><code>  &gt; It&#x27;s rarely possible to achieve a goal merely by pretending
  &gt; you&#x27;ve already achieved it.
</code></pre>
What if the goal is to have the next generation(s) achieve a way of thinking by pretending (I&#x27;m not ecstatic about that word, but it&#x27;ll have to do) we think that way now.<p>Do you think that may have a positive effect?<p>I&#x27;m reminded of the Garbage Dump Troop - a fascinating story, told in many places, but here&#x27;s a succinct explanation of the effect:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;bobsutton.typepad.com&#x2F;my_weblog&#x2F;2009&#x2F;11&#x2F;the-baboon-troop-that-mellowed-out-after-the-alpha-males-died-the-sapolsky-and-share-study.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;bobsutton.typepad.com&#x2F;my_weblog&#x2F;2009&#x2F;11&#x2F;the-baboon-tr...</a><p>Unsurprisingly, alpha males usually don&#x27;t find the story charming.  ; )