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Self-Efficacy

Training  to Increase Your Self-Efficacy and Move Your Life for Better

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One of the goals associated with Orpe Human Rights Advocates' mission is promoting programs that rehabilitate homeless or low-income families, lives living in poverty, or victims change their financial status from zero income, or low- income to the status of self-sufficient income. We engage people living in poverty in the difficult exercises of behavioral modifications. The program consists of dissuading sociological, psychological, and spiritual behaviors that hold them back from making positive decisions susceptible to change lives for better. 

 

This is a team-based planning process established within the scope of OHRA Wraparound Model.  The OHRA Wraparound Model starts with an individualized assessment within the purpose of identifying the sociological, psychological, and spiritual factors that govern the mind of a recipient. The recipient will work with a facilitator who will coordinate the recovery plan and establish a personal plan. The model is intended to provide an individualized and coordinated solution driven with the idea of changing suffering lives from the status of insufficient-income to this of sufficient income. However, this recipient will not be able to reverse his/her situation if he/she is not able to identify his/her natural skills within him/her. These natural skills are known as "Self-efficacy."

 

 

Self-Efficacy is the recipient belief in his/her own ability be able to curry out a specific task. This theory was addressed by Albert Bandura. Bandura is widely regarded as one of the most influential psychologists of all time. One of the things he’s best known for is his theory of self-efficacy. Bandura defines self-efficacy as follows:

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“The belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.”

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That definition is a bit convoluted, but it can be summed up as the following quote by Henry Ford:

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you‘re right.”

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Recipient's "self-efficacy" trait  is determined in the following ways:

  • How motivated a recipient is to take on a task.

  • The amount of effort that a recipient is willing to put into the achievement of a task.

  • For how long a recipient will persist in the face of adversity.

  • Whether a recipient ultimately be able to succeed at achieving the task.

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After all, if you don’t believe you can do something, how likely are you to try? Not likely at all. And if you do try, how much effort will you be willing to exert? How likely are you to keep trying when you come across an obstacle or suffer a setback? You know the answers to these last two questions:

  • You won’t put much effort into it.

  • You’ll give up at the first sign of trouble.

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The opposite is also true. If you believe that you can do something you’ll be eager to get started, you’ll put in a lot of effort, and it’s highly likely that you’ll persist until you succeed.

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Keep in mind that self-efficacy is task and situation-specific. As an illustration, you may have high levels of self-efficacy when it comes to solving math problems; medium levels of self-efficacy when it comes to giving presentations at work; and low levels of self-efficacy when it comes to doing anything athletic.

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So, what can you do if you’ve set goals for yourself in an area of your life in which you have low self-efficacy? The answer is simple: you need to work on increasing your self-efficacy. You’ll discover how, below.

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How to Increase Your Self-Efficacy

Bandura sets forth that you develop your self-efficacy beliefs based on how you interpret input that you receive from four sources:

  1. Mastery

  2. Modeling

  3. Persuasion

  4. Physiological Factors

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This means that if you want to increase your self-efficacy in any area, you need to find a way to work with these four sources. These sources are discussed in the sections that follow.

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1st Source of Self-Efficacy – Mastery

The first source of self-efficacy is mastery. If you’ve done well-performing a certain type of task in the past, you’re likely to have a strong belief that you can accomplish that type of task again in the future.

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In order to increase this source of self-efficacy, do the following:

  • Remember your past successes. Ideally, you’ll have past successes with goals that are similar to the goal that you’re currently working on. However, just remembering how you achieved something that you at first thought was difficult can be helpful.

  • Set goals that have an element of challenge in them but that are also realistic and attainable.

  • If you’ve failed at a certain type of task in the past, when it comes time to working on that sort of task again, set smaller goals for yourself and work your way up slowly, making sure to recognize even small successes.

  • As you work on your goal keep reminding yourself that having some stumbles and setbacks along the way is normal.

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2nd Source of Self-Efficacy – Modeling

The second source of self-efficacy is the vicarious experience of observing others perform the task that you want to succeed at. You’re influenced by what you observe others doing.

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The caveat here is that—to believe that “if they can do it, I can do it” –you need to perceive that the people whom you see succeeding in achieving the goal that you’re after are similar to you. Ideally, you’ll be able to find role models—people who have succeeded with the goal that you’re currently pursuing—within your circle of friends or acquaintances. However, you don’t have to know someone—or even be near them—to model them. You can model people by watching them on YouTube, or by reading about their accomplishments on the internet.

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The idea is to find someone who will make you think the following: “This person is a lot like me, and they were able to do it. Hey, I bet I can do it too!”

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3rd Source of Self-Efficacy – Social Persuasion

Social persuasion is the third source of self-efficacy. What others tell you about your ability to achieve a certain task matters. Look for people who will encourage you to go after your dreams and who will cheer you on as you strive to achieve your goals.

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At the same time, stay away from those who try to rain on your parade. People who try to convince you that you don’t have what it takes to achieve your goals will have a negative impact on your self-efficacy.

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If you don’t currently have a supportive network, then try daily affirmations and journaling to remind yourself that you can succeed.

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4th Source of Self-Efficacy – Physiological Factors

The emotional state that you’re in when it’s time to act on your goals will affect your self-efficacy. But what’s also important is what you tell yourself about you’re feeling.

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As an illustration, everyone gets a little nervous when they’re about to try something new. You can interpret this nervousness in the following two ways:

  • You can interpret it as a sign of excitement at the prospect of stepping outside of your comfort zone. This excitement will encourage us to keep moving forward.

  • However, if you interpret the nervousness as anxiety and fear, it’s likely that you’ll conclude that it’s best not to proceed.

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Positive moods increase feelings of self-efficacy, while negative moods reduce it. Strive to put yourself in moods that will boost your self-efficacy by managing stress, and by talking yourself through any discomfort you may feel as you strive to achieve your goals.

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Conclusion

We’ve all read the children’s book “The Little Engine That Could”, in which a little engine succeeds in pulling a long train over a mountain by constantly repeating: “I think I can, I think I can”. Believe that you can achieve your goals. Live your best life by increasing your self-efficacy.

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