If There’s One Key to Success, It’s This
What is the ONE THING that has shown to be most important when it comes to entrepreneurial success? What about side-hustle success? What about professional success of any kind?
Well, one of the most important (bc there is never just one, right) is something called Self-Efficacy.
Self-efficacy. What is that?
Self-efficacy is confidence in your own ability to do what you need to do to achieve your goals, specifically whether you can do so in the face of adversity.
It’s related to self-worth, self-confidence, self-esteem, and even self-care but it’s not the same.
Because it’s related, however, taking care of yourself improves your self-efficacy, which then strengthens your self-worth, which then improves your self-efficacy, which then…and so on.
When people wonder how the different services I provide relate, I answer in different ways depending on the situation. The bottom line is, I’m at this intersection. The intersection between outside-in and inside-out.
Chipping away at the causes of your overwhelm, cynicism, lack of confidence, self-doubt, and thinking you just don’t have what it takes to do what you need to do. Helping you feel confident in your body, your finances, and your life, and performing your best personally and professionally at the same time.
I build your self-efficacy inside-out and outside-in.
So you aren’t the entrepreneur who pours their heart/money/time into establishing your business, and then pivots to your next great idea when faced with an unexpected challenge.
So you aren’t the middle manager working day in and out on their side gig, only to “lose face” and quit because of a few setbacks.
So you aren’t the employee who wants to go for that next level job but is daunted by the challenge of applying and interviewing, and so never applies.
Self-efficacy. How do you know if you have it?
You can measure for it. You can take a 10-question quiz called the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale.
The higher your score, the higher your self-efficacy.
There are other options. This one is freely available.
Self-efficacy. What do you do if you don’t?
Four sources build on self-efficacy.
Mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional and psychological states.
You gain mastery experiences when you take on new challenges and succeed. A challenge can be small. Like every day for a week, I will walk for 5 minutes after dinner. And then you build on that. Eventually, you are walking an extra 30 minutes a day.
You gain vicarious experiences when you have a role model to watch and emulate. This can include family, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors, and counselors. It may even include social media depending on what you are filling your feed with.
Speaking of social media…Verbal persuasion refers to the positive impact that our words have on the self-efficacy of others. Which means someone else’s words influence your self-efficacy. Sooooo, watch whom you surround yourself with (including your feeds!).
Emotional and psychological states…this is where that self-care comes in.
Working long hours, inconsistent sleep, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, poor hygiene, not taking pride in your appearance (this includes skin and hair care routines, as well as a wardrobe), lack of social connections, financial stressors…these all affect your emotional and psychological states. This is why there are connections between these and states like depression, anxiety, and even suicide.
No a bubble bath in and of itself isn’t a cure-all but it contributes to you feeling worthy of care. It contributes to you taking a moment to refill your emotional resources so you can have confidence that you can keep showing up when you get out of the tub.
How you treat yourself inside-out and outside-in affects how you work and how you live. Taking care of yourself is part of your job. It is part of your duty to yourself and to the world. The world needs you =). You need you. Let’s build your self-efficacy so you can keep showing up.
How will you start? Because “there’s a difference between being alive and living.”