Life, or career visions and goals, are created by many as a way of articulating their idyllic situation among the myriad of possible outcomes that could eventuate. From that perspective, the creation of life and career visions are very worthwhile...but...vision and goals are not always enough! Luck aside, realising a vision for many, requires the vital addition of self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy describes belief in your own abilities...belief you can achieve your goals, belief you can resolve challenges, belief you can overcome obstacles, belief you can stay committed, belief you can be resilient, and importantly belief you can realise your vision. A robust belief in you...underpinned by your own evidence.
I meet a lot of people who have grand visions and goals, but who never realise these because they have little, or no self-efficacy. When a hurdle arrives, their insecurities come out to play, and their negative self talk takes over, ultimately leading to the seemingly easier path of giving up on their goals, giving up on their vision and giving up on themselves. Giving up also weakens self-efficacy, which makes goal pursuits in the future, something these people may be inclined to avoid.
So, if you have a vision that you're trying to realise, but struggling with self-efficacy, here are six tips to help strengthen it.
1. Take stock of your past successes (big and small), and reflect on your experience and approach. Recall how you overcame obstacles to succeed.
2. Set small goals and note your achievements and self improvements as you progress toward them. This builds increments of self belief to strengthen your self-efficacy.
3. Observe and learn from the skills, behaviours, and strategies of successful role models similar to you.
4. Have a positive circle of influence, and allow yourself to be influenced by the people you trust, about your ability to accomplish a task or goal.
5. Develop self-awareness about your emotional and physical well-being as you progress toward your goals. When something starts to feel tough, be aware of your internal dialogue and monitor and manage negative self-talk and behaviours.
6. Practice visualising yourself accomplishing your goals, it will make it feel more real (don't dismiss this as silly...many successful people have been doing it for years).
Remember, success, mistakes, failures, accomplishments, losses and gains are all part of the rich fabric of our lives. Don't allow a lack of self-efficacy to hold you back from pursuing your goals...strengthen your self-efficacy by using the tips in this article, or do your own research on the topic and you'll find there's a lot of helpful information available. We don't get to choose where our stories begin but with a personal vision, goals and self-efficacy, we do get to decide how they evolve. I wish you well in evolving yours.
About the Author: Jo-Anne Niemann.
Jo-Anne is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Change Builders Consulting, she specialises in performance and career coaching; customised learning and development; and organisational development.