I Intend To Do It, Therefore I Have Done It
I was watching a documentary of a hoarder (no this is not another hoarding Thread) and a professional organizer came into his home and explained to him that normally someone will see something that is a mess and immediately clean it. She then asked what he thought when he sees a mess and he said "I Intend To Do It, Therefore I Have Done It" and I thought about that for a moment. Procrastination to the point that you put yourself into an illusionist's world of having already done things you really have not is definitely a psychological problem. I do not think that is unique to a hoarder though, it seems to affect all of us - I Intend To Do It, Therefore I Have Done It. It also brings me back to James Allen and his wonderful work As A Man Thinketh. The world around us is largely shaped by how we see things. Any thoughts?
Interesting, but what did he mean, in that context? Is it as you have interpreted, that he considered it done, that he had already cleaned it up, even though he could look at it and see it is most definitely not cleaned up?
I believe William James made an interesting use of either this or a similar concept, in the ideomotor effect, which is what, scientifically speaking, is at work in the case of most "automatisms" such as using an Ouija board, dowsing rods, etc.
In the case of the traveler on the Ouija, your body, your hand, will imperceptibly place a certain amount of pressure onto the object in certain places, which causes the object to move in the direction of the letter you are thinking about, wanting to be chosen, or maybe which you DON'T want - it still is a natural manifestation, from thought to action. This happens involuntarily, naturally, unless the person intentionally blocks this or another force prevents it, such as someone else holding the hand or traveler.
This above function, I think, could be an example of the "I intend to do it, so I have done it", where the intent is what is important, and naturally DOES manifest, but the original subject and problem is that this function is grossly exaggerated, to where the manifestation is assumed, even more or less consciously, instead of happening on a subtle, limited level.
I do not know the relevance of mentioning the Ouja but I will answer your question.