What is self-efficacy? According to psychologist Albert Bandura, it’s a deep core belief you can use to influence the events affecting your life. It’s similar to agency—the idea that your actions can bring about positive changes in your world.
Without this core belief, people feel like victims of circumstance. If you believe that nothing you do makes a difference, you lose the motivation to take action. You may fall into despair or even an addictive spiral as you seek to self-medicate your uncomfortable feelings.
Fortunately, you can strengthen your sense of agency and use it to drive needed improvements and changes. Read on for some more information about how to use self-efficacy to improve your outlook on life.
How self-efficacy influences your outlook
Imagine the following scenario—your company merges with another and gets hit by layoffs, costing you your job. If you don’t have a strong sense of self-efficacy, your thoughts might be, “I’ll never find another position that pays the same and offers comparable benefits in the current economy. I should anticipate my financial picture worsening until I lose everything.”
Note that self-efficacy isn’t the same as toxic positivity. Toxic positivity denies the present reality, painting a coat of glitter over frankly terrible situations. Having a strong sense of self-efficacy doesn’t mean ignoring how workers have it harder than ever in this economy and that finding a job that’ll allow you to pay the bills these days is difficult. It simply entails the perception that you can rise to a challenge.
Someone with a strong sense of self-efficacy views roadblocks as minor setbacks and transforms them into opportunities. While they might initially experience shock, dismay, outrage and depression, they bounce back. They might think, “While it’s sad that this door has closed, I now have the chance to find a job that makes better use of my unique talents.” Such an outlook can help such a person persevere, despite life’s challenges, and ultimately can help people achieve more success.
3 tips for improving your self-efficacy
Improving your sense of self-efficacy isn’t easy, especially if you’ve seen repeated trauma in your life. For example, survivors of narcissistic abuse have often endured years of their partner telling them, “You’re nothing without me.” Children of narcissists have an even harder row to hoe, due to having their parents submerge them in such toxic messaging systems since birth.
However, you can improve your sense of self-efficacy with time and patience. Here are three different ways to get started.
Upgrade your circle
Who do you spend your time with? If your friends all have similar dismal outlooks—that everything is terrible and nothing you do can change it—it’s time to improve your social circle. That doesn’t mean abandoning the people you know, but it does entail limiting your time with those who see a problem in every proposed solution.
If you’re in recovery from addiction, you have a slight edge. Your sponsor is an excellent initial positive contact who can suggest other ways to get more involved with people who support your progress. Attending meetings is a fabulous way to meet others who understand your unique battle and will cheer on each milestone.
Look for positive ways to get involved in your community, too. As an example, if you love the outdoors, consider joining a local hiking club or an environmental group that participates in regular cleanups of local green areas.
Pratique exercícios
Exercise improves self-efficacy by showing you that it’s possible to make positive changes to your body and your overall health. When you’re choosing a form of exercise to participate in, find something you love that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Even the gentlest Yin Yoga classes will result in progress. Imagine how proud you’ll feel the first time you touch your toes, if you haven’t been able to do so in years.
The trick is to be patient and celebrate your accomplishments along the way. Did you complete a single push-up? That calls for a special pat on the back—maybe reward yourself with a snazzy new water bottle to complement your next workout.
Master a new skill
Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to hone a new skill. Higher education might cost a small fortune, but sites such as Udemy will let you master skills from animal Reiki to basic coding, often for as little as $20 a class.
Maybe you’ve dreamed of earning some side cash from handyman work, but you feel uncertain about your hammer-swinging ability. Big box stores like Home Depot often run free workshops that’ll train you to do various repairs—why not participate one Saturday?
Mindfully making use of self-efficacy
Using self-efficacy to improve your life requires a bit of mindfulness practice, especially if trauma has left you with a default mode of thinking that always runs to disaster. You must consciously train yourself to reframe life events as obstacles to overcome, as opposed to insurmountable disasters.
For instance, let’s go back to the job layoff scenario. Could it be true that you’ll struggle to find a comparable position? Yes. Is it also possible that the next week, you’ll find work that exceeds your wildest expectations? Yes.
Begin your journey by mindfully examining your default thought processes. It helps to envision a little neutral scientific observer in your head, impartially taking notes. Your job here is merely to explore how you typically respond to stressful situations. Judging your thoughts or criticizing yourself for “not thinking positively” may be hard to get over.
Then, let your higher brain take the reins by consciously employing other perspectives to counter the negativity. If you think “I’ll never have enough money to survive,” replace that by brainstorming possible ways to supplement your income. Be realistic. For example, you might have luck with a lucrative side hustle, but it could also take years to build your business—how can you mentally coach yourself to go the distance?
Guided meditations can also help you retrain your default mode network. Once you build more awareness of how your maladaptive thoughts hinder your progress, you can tune in to positive messages that counteract many of the negative ones you’ve heard your entire life, particularly if you’ve survived abuse.
Improve your outlook on life
When you feel like nothing you do makes an impact, it’s natural to fall into despair. You need to believe that you can positively change your life, if you hope to improve it. Unfortunately, people with traumatic pasts often lose touch with their sense of self-efficacy since their abusers have convinced them they’re ultimately incapable.
Fortunately, no matter who you are, you can take charge of yourself and regain your sense of self-efficacy, and then use it to improve your outlook on life. Begin retraining your brain today—a brighter tomorrow begins inside you.
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