Self- Efficacy

Twenty-five people sat in a conference room borrowed from a local college yesterday evening. We were a group of practitioners of appreciative inquiry. Appreciative inquiry is an approach that favored the examination of strengths and assets in assessing situations and problems.

How many times—the invited speaker of the evening asked us—did we look at situations from a deficit mindset: investing analysis and energy on defining problems and short-sighting the effort to define strengths, assets and talents inherent in us or in our environment? The speaker was an expert at conducting assessments of international development projects. He worked on seriously projects funded by the US tackling things like poverty alleviation in places like Nepal.

I sat there thinking of change programs of all types: from large scale ones above to small personal ones that some of us have known or have undertaken. How many projects started with hoopla and best intentions? How many stood the test of time and yielded results? I looked at my change efforts both professional and personal: to learn a language (in process), to find a partner through online dating (needs commitment) and to get a new sofa (stalled and renewed).

As the speaker last night recounted efforts (and successes) of poor women in Nepal learning literacy, banking, and small business development all at the same time, I realized how heavily resourced a country like the US is. So many elements contribute to success, yet nothing is as powerful as a person’s belief in her power to make a difference in her own life. Regardless of gender, this power is self-efficacy. More than one public health campaigns in the US have rested its success on it.

Self-efficacy is more than confidence. It is a deep faith in ourselves or in our dreams. It’s a strength knowing that we’ve got the means to effect the changes in our lives. Wishing you access to the depths of belief within you.