Self-efficacy, self-discipline, and self-motivation: Like 3 peas in a pod

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

From where does hard work, pressure to excel, push, and drive originate?  In the final analysis, it doesn’t come from friends, parents, siblings, or teachers, although all of these can lend some assistance.  Look at the three sets of words in the title of this essay, and you find one common denominator: self.  Hard work, pressure to excel, push, and drive all originate with your self.  If you yourself do not have the efficacy, discipline, and motivation to work hard, excel, push and drive yourself, then there is little (or no) hope that it will appear.
    
For some, it is too bad that friends, parents, siblings, or teachers cannot instill efficacy, discipline, and motivation in them.  In that way each person — you and I — would not have to hold ourselves responsible for our lives.  In that way you and I would have someone to blame for our inability to achieve, attain goals, arrive at self-constructed destinations, accomplish what we set out to do, follow-through on promises and resolutions, execute our life plan, earn success, and reach for the stars.  If we didn’t succeed in any way, the only problem would be finding those who we could blame!
    
With the full knowledge that it is us — we ourselves — who are responsible for our lives, should provide the incentive, stimulus, inducement, and inspiration to find out how to develop (or improve) efficacy, discipline, and motivation for it is these three — like three peas in a pod — that not just determine our success in life, but influence and establish our fate (destiny) each day, that is, our ability to function successfully.
    
At Self-Esteem-Enhances-Life.com, in an essay entitled, “Self Efficacy - Believe and Achieve the Life You Want,” the author begins by saying that belief is the activator, “Believe that you are capable, believe that you are able, believe that you have the wherewithal to achieve the life you want. Life is firmly on your side. Your part in this partnership is to understand that, to know that, to realize that, to ponder that, to utilize that, to believe that.  To believe that you can achieve. To believe that you can overcome. To believe that a good, wholesome, healthy life is your right. To believe and then go get it.”  And the writer makes it clear, too, that it isn’t belief alone.
    
We need to believe in ourselves, true, trust in our abilities true, and give ourselves opportunities.  In the same essay as that cited above, the author writes, “the only failure is giving up, quitting on ourselves, not learning, not growing, not developing, not taking up the baton.... Otherwise we can move forward.”
    
As an activator, belief is a beginning because “what people believe, think, and feel affects how they behave,” according to a chapter on “Social Cognitive Therapy: General Concept” posted on the web.  Then what?  Sometimes it is just a matter of belief, but sometimes, too, it is lack of discipline, motivation, confidence, action, image, control, dedication, determination, commitment, or management.  Then what?  It is a fact that the cause for a lack of efficacy, discipline, or motivation is unique to each person; thus, the ways for overcoming the deficiency may be idiosyncratic as well.  No method is likely to work for everyone, but having a method is better than having none!
    
“The component skills,” (which I have adapted for this essay) according to Barry J. Zimmerman , in an essay entitled, “Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview,” for moving beyond belief into action include: (a) setting specific proximal [immediate] goals for oneself, (b) adopting powerful, and specific strategies for attaining the goals, (e) monitoring one's performance on a continuing basis and selectively for signs of progress and success, (d) restructuring one's physical and social context to make it compatible with one's
goals and to make success more likely, (e) managing one's time use efficiently so that sufficient time can be (and is) spent on achieving these specific goals, (f) periodically evaluating both one's methods (for their success) and results (for their completion), (g) attributing causation (one’s ability and commitment) to results, (h) rewarding oneself for accomplishment in a direct, proportional, and appropriate manner, and (i) adapting future methods to what has taken place.  To follow such a plan requires a great deal of self-discipline and self-motivation.
    
This step-by-step method can be applied to any goal one wants to achieve, but, as noted, it begins with the essential activator: belief.  Self-efficacy — your belief in your own ability to do whatever it is you set out to do — has been substantially supported by research.  Quoting here, in part, from the website Connextions, in a module entitled, “School Administrators’ Efficacy: A Model and Measure,” by McCollum, Kajs, and Minter, self-efficacy is related to individuals’ persistence, effort, and success on tasks they perform, and their ability to determine successful outcomes through effort and persistence.  Also, observing successful action of others raises a person’s self-efficacy through seeing, visualizing, or being mentored by people whose successful actions can raise one’s capabilities or encourage their development of self-efficacy.
    
Having self-efficacy, self-discipline, and self-motivation are essential to succeeding in life. Those who don’t possess these traits will find themselves left behind.  Developing these characteristics means that you believe that you can succeed even when others may say you cannot and continuing on even when you would really like to quit. Those who have these attributes will be more likely to complete tasks, try out new things, and not give up when things are hard.  Having self-efficacy, self-discipline, and self-motivated means that you have important internal goals that you want to reach and reasons for doing things.  It is like being motivated to fill your time with purpose and direction.  It is like being stimulated, invigorated, and inspired on a daily basis.  It is like having a reason for living rather than just occupying space.  
    
When you possess these features, you will change your life, and you will know — from personal experience — where your own hard work, pressure to excel, push, and drive originate.  And, your confidence in yourself, belief in your abilities, and trust in a positive, productive future will all increase proportionately.
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At the website personal-development.com, Chuck Gallozzi, in an essay, “Developing Self-Discipline,”offers eleven specific ideas for developing self-discipline which offer a comfortable and important addendum to my essay.

John Wesley, at PickTheBrain.com , has a terrific essay, “How To Motivate Yourself - Self Motivation,” offers a number of specific suggestions, and like Gallozzi’s essay, serves as a useful buttress of and support to my essay.
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© Copyright January, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.