Self-Efficacy: The Fuel of Flourishing
“People’s level of motivation, affective states, and actions are based more on what they believe than on what is objectively the case.”
If you really want to excel at engaged living, learn to leverage self-efficacy. Put simply, self-efficacy is a personal belief in your purpose and abilities, and it is the natural consequence of living an engaged life. This belief is important because when we believe in ourselves, we become more likely to succeed. But how do we build confidence in our ability to act? Paradoxically, we start acting! The more we act, the more confident we become that we can act. In this way, action is the power that propels us toward our goal of self-confidence and engaged living.
Think of it in terms of driving a car. If we aren’t using the gas pedal, then turning the steering wheel will do nothing to get us to our destination. Once we apply the gas and give ourselves forward motion, however, the steering wheel becomes very effective in getting us where we need to be. The underlying principle here is that it is easier to adjust ourselves when we are moving than when we are stationary. Therefore, once we are committed to acting often, we can start making small adjustments that will improve our self-efficacy and get us to our destination of engaged living.
Albert Bandura is the leading researcher on self-efficacy and founder of the concept. According to him, there are 4 main ways to increase self-efficacy:
Draw from previous successes: This means looking back on past wins and figuring out what contributed to your success. Learning from previous victories can go a long way in knowing how to improve future performance. Reflecting on previous moments of success can also help boost your confidence in your ability to succeed.
Learn from relatable models: Find someone similar to you and learn how they reached success. If you and them really are alike, chances are that you can reach success using their tactics. Seeing someone succeed who is similar to you can also serve as a good reminder that you are capable of success.
Get more verbal persuasion and motivation from others: Asking your friends and family for encouragement can remind them how important they are to you. It can also remind you that encouraging words build your confidence. Once you receive that motivation, believe in it and let it boost your self-efficacy.
Increase positive emotion while managing negative emotion: As we’ve mentioned, it is natural for negative thoughts and feelings to arise. When they do, remind yourself that they are thoughts and feelings and not necessarily facts. For example, next time you think “I am a failure,” remind yourself that you are simply having the thought that you are a failure. Stepping back from thoughts in this way can help you manage negative emotion effectively.
Other strategies of boosting self-efficacy ask us to adjust our perspective. One way we can do this is by evaluating our locus of control. This is a fancy way of describing whether we attribute our success to some outside factor (external locus of control) or whether we believe we have control over our own success (internal locus of control). Because a strong belief in oneself is a core component of self-efficacy, developing an internal locus of control can expand and awaken that essential belief. So next time you are deciding between taking responsibility for your success and failures or attributing them to some external cause, remember that an internal locus of control can boost self-efficacy and lead to engaged living.