Self-efficacy: The Unsung Hero of Successful Goals

Goal setting is one thing, goal achieving is another. Often self-efficacy, the hero of goal achievement, is not given the respect it deserves.

No matter how SMART and important the goal, if the self-efficacy component is overlooked, your power to achieve that goal will be diminished significantly. 

Defined as “a person's estimate or personal judgment of his or her own ability to succeed in reaching a specific goal”[1], self-efficacy must be considered before you start working on a goal.

A good way to understand the self-efficacy concept is to think of it as a toolbox. The tools inside are the knowledge, skills, and resources you bring to your goal. Incidentally, you use this toolbox on a daily basis, most of the time, without even thinking about it.

Take for example, a simple goal of opening the front door of your house. You need to get through that door (important goal). Easy, right? What if you arrive at your front door, find it’s locked and do not have the key? Your goal just got a lot harder. You forgot to consider an important resource (tool) for self-efficacy (a key in your toolbox).

Realistically, you accomplish this goal on a regular basis without any effort, right? But do you? Well, you need to know where your door is, what key you need, where that key is, whether or not you have more than one lock on that door, etc. These are all tools (knowledge, skills, resources) you must consider ahead of time in order to be successful with that door goal. This is self-efficacy. You are fully able to accomplish this goal because you have a very high level of self-efficacy – your personal judgement predicts a high success rate for your ability to open the door.

As related to achieving larger goals like those for wellness and wellbeing, the self-efficacy component is your hero. Think of a goal you would like to accomplish or one you may already be working towards, pause a moment and inventory your self-efficacy toolbox:

·      Do know what work is required of the goal?

·      Do you have the skills for achieving the goal (if not, what will it take to acquire the skills to work on your goal)?

·      Do you have the resources to achieve your goal (time, knowledge, support, etc.)?

·      Is the goal important enough for you to invest the skills and resources necessary (if not, should you redesign or resize, or change your goal)?

These are the types of considerations necessary to arm yourself with confidence and motivation. When your toolbox is stocked you are well positioned for success before you even begin. If you find you need to add a tool or two, you have acquired the insight to make a more powerful decisions as to your readiness for the goal you are considering and what you will need to begin.

For more about self-efficacy, we believe you will find this Explore Psychology (website) article helpful: Self-efficacy: Definition and Examples