Increase Self-Efficacy with Growth Mindset and Deliberate Practice
This past year has been a learning journey in regards to personal and career growth, especially when I’m faced with much time with my own thoughts. I began to take a closer look at existing relationships, contemplate career planning, develop habits, and more importantly improve my mentality (e.g. self-efficacy) in the face of challenges. While confused feelings persisted along the way, gradually I have learned to handle barrier, uncertainty and imperfections better.
I’ve had a problem maintaining a consistent level of self-efficacy- the belief in your own capability of executing tasks or actions. With lower self-efficacy, people tend to have restricted “view” towards their capacity at experimenting with new challenges, especially when treading new territories. In my experience, self-compassion helps to some degree, because you learn not to be your worst critic, and learn how to take back the control of your inner voice instead of letting the negative narrative deter you.
Today, I want to talk about self-efficacy which helps to provide consistency in daily life and productivity.
For me, some strategies that help with my own self-efficacy include,
Reduce the cultural effect: Different country’s and region’s culture varies drastically, my own culture for example can be black and white with achievements (e.g. school ranking system). It takes away the importance of process and learning in a world that is overtly result-oriented. Identification of the distinct cultural context/behavior that influences you may be a fundamental step to bringing self-efficacy.
Positive feedback: One key factor that contributes to my self-efficacy is a system of positive feedback, which you can perceive as a close-circled loop that transmits positive signals throughout. To make that happen, you need to actively ask for feedback, as well as a supportive group of people who are willing to give constructive perspectives, and to make you see the strengths that you aren’t aware of.
Past positive experience: Going hand in hand with positive feedback is positive experience. Self-efficacy won’t happen overnight, it happens gradually. You will have to accumulate positive experiences in life, and celebrate the small wins, and gradually have it led to repeated success. Step by step, the repeated experience affirms your belief of your capability, and setbacks will stand lower chance at deterring you, further contributing to the positive experience loop.
PS. (For people interested in psychology books, Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control by Albert Bandura has some academic theories. Below link are some good exerpts https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/effbook1.html )
Now, I want to venture out a little bit, to introduce tools that compliment my self-efficacy journey- Growth-Mindset and Deliberate Practice.
- Leveraging growth mindset and growth-oriented voice.
A person with fixed mindset who faces mistakes may start thinking of themselves as not having the required ability to achieve greater accomplishments. Growth mindset crowds however, walk away knowing they have gained knowledge, and will be better equipped the next time.
This is an important mindset, when you set out to do deliberate practices that sharpen your focused area of skillset. Both tools combined can create the positive feedback loop in your journey of building up your skills, and ultimately nurture your self efficacy.
2. So What is deliberate practice?
Formal presentation unnerves me, but I am better equipped now than I was before when sitting in class fidgeting, waiting for my turn.
It unnerves me because I worried about forgetting lines, ill-prepared Q&A sessions, or managing the session time right. When I had to do my masters presentation during the final capstone project, I set out to do some deliberate practice, hoping it can provide good muscle memory for future presentation.
PS. (For further reading, reference Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson, and Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck)
Practicing deliberate practices
Important aspects to deliberate practice, using presentation as an example,
Set narrow, specific goals: To better my presentations, I found that retracing from the final output to see what needs to be done, and then break down into minor goals is effective. That can mean design better flow chart to illustrate analysis method, or summarize industry papers for insights into possible Q&A, perfect time management, to name a few.
Intense practice: Think of it as a sprint. You need to put away specific time to practice, and do so in a clearly defined, limited time window. For me it means to set aside at least 30–60 minutes every day, and persist for at least two weeks (adjustable) to perfect a presentation, keeping in mind who your target audience is. I stumbled over lines several times, but with growth-mindset, you tell yourself “it’s ok” and it really gets easier.
Ask for Feedback: Again, feedback is your friend. It is suggested that the more immediate the feedback the more effective. I gathered that it is because you will immediately incorporate what you’ve learned to improve your practice cycle.
With growth mindset, I completed the experience knowing I’ve gained muscle memory of how to create harmonious relationship with client company, predict questions, create narrow focus on the structure in the presentation, and even how to over-deliver on people’s expectations.
My mentality when faced with challenges has shifted, due to increased self efficacy- which comes an increased capacity to experiment with new knowledge and take on new project. Combined with the help of growth-oriented mentality and deliberate practices, I see myself enjoying the process more than ever.
Feel free to to discuss, let me know what you think!
