For the Psychologist Albert Bandura, creator of social cognitive theory, the term “Self-efficacy” refers to believing in our abilities to face any situation and achieve success.
In his publication ” Self-Efficacy: How We Cope With Changes in Today’s Society “, Bandura describes the concept of self-efficacy as the belief in one’s own ability to organize and execute the actions that are necessary to manage different situations.
Based on the above, I ask you: Do you persevere to achieve your goals or do you give up easily? The difference between one or the other action is self-efficacy .
We can set goals and be clear about each of our objectives; But we must be aware that sometimes it will not be easy. Therefore, the self-efficacy that we develop will be the key to taking on the challenges.
We must commit to having a strong and well-defined attitude to achieve success. People with a high sense of self-efficacy see each obstacle as a test that they must overcome, as if it were to climb a ladder towards the goal.
These people feel more self-confident and have self-esteem. On the contrary, if you give up on the first try, you are likely to doubt your ability to overcome obstacles.
The development of self-efficacy begins from childhood, and it is about gaining that self-confidence while assuming challenges. That is why I want to share with you how to learn to achieve self-efficacy, which will guide you to success:
- Your Achievements
As you accumulate experiences of personal achievement, your self-confidence will increase, raise your self-esteem and strengthen your feelings of self-efficacy.
In turn, this will allow you to achieve more and be more successful, since the confidence in yourself and the esteem earned by the achievements acquired will be the engine to improve yourself every day.
- The Accomplishments Of Other People
When we witness the achievements made by other people and the entire process experienced and the tests passed, then we can see that our current situation does not determine our future, which will be a motivation to achieve our own successes.
- Positive Thinking
People who have developed self-efficacy are more optimistic about the trials they face. Each situation is viewed as a passed test and consequently their stress levels are low, which increasingly drives the path to success.
Now, I want to share with you how you can develop your self-efficacy:
- Set realistic goals: Set attractive goals and execute an action plan within a set period. Pre-measure your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats, do a self-assessment of it and consider each factor before setting the goals and actions you want to achieve.
- Measure your objectives: Evaluate each of the objectives achieved. The better you can quantify those goals, the better you’ll know how to execute them, which will increase your motivation to achieve them.
- Set your goals focused on the favorable: This will keep you guided to success and not failure. A positive attitude is an essential key to achieving everything you set your mind to.
- Follow a person as a role model: Take hold of that person (be it a family member, friend, co-worker or your own boss), and see that person as a role model that motivates you to say “I can do it too.”
- Maintain good mental health: For this, remember to give yourself time for yourself, while reducing stress and negative emotions. You must eliminate those thoughts of “I can not”, “I will never overcome that situation”, “that goal is unattainable for me.” It encourages optimism, good humor and self-control of your emotions, strengthening self-efficacy and improving your interpersonal relationships.
- Empower yourself : Analyze each unfavorable situation and instead of seeing it as a failure, take it as a lived experience, a learning process so as not to fail again. Always remember that any error in meeting the objectives is an essential part of the goal to be achieved.
Develop your self-efficacy every day. I encourage you to believe in yourself and your strengths. I encourage you to see every obstacle as an opportunity. I encourage you to persevere with the goals you want to achieve, only in this way will you raise that feeling of self-efficacy and therefore you will achieve what you set out to do in any area of your life.
