How to Build Self-Efficacy (and Finally Stick With a New Fitness Habit)
Have you committed to a new habit – exercise, say – but keep getting derailed? Do you give up when things get tough? Does this idea of “pursuing goals” really seem intimidating to you? You might have low self-efficacy. But don’t worry: self-efficacy is something you can develop with practice.
If you have low self-esteem, you may feel like you lack motivation. Maybe you do a workout or two, but you don’t see the point in continuing. Your goals seem far away, and what’s the point of working on them anyway? Fortunately, self-efficacy has been studied by psychologists and much research has been done on how to develop and maintain it.
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy is the technical term for believing in yourself. Self-efficacy, as psychologists understand it, is linked to the idea of confidence, but it’s not just about being arrogant for no reason. It’s a feeling I would describe as something like determination. It has to do with discipline and motivation.
When you have high self-efficacy, you believe you can do the thing. At any rate. Maybe you’re just starting a long journey, but you know you’ll get to the end. You see obstacles in your path as speed bumps, not barriers. If you encounter a problem, you will find a way to solve it. You just come know you will be. These beliefs are not something you are born with or something you obtain by luck or miracle. You build them over time, with practice and experience.
At the heart of self-efficacy is the idea that you can control what you do and that you can control at least some of the things around you in your life. If there’s a snowstorm the day you go to the gym, for example, you don’t just abandon that week’s workout. You can rearrange your schedule so you can go another day, or you can do a home workout, or you can simply remind yourself that your routine will survive a missed day and that your long-term plan is still on track.
With that in mind, here are some of the ways psychologists say we can build self-efficacy:
Develop your personal effectiveness by congratulating yourself for your small victories
Past successes are fuel for future successes. This applies to small things like habits: if you managed to get to the gym once, it’s much easier to get there on the second day. This also applies to larger projects. If you took a beginner’s running program and “graduated” to running a 5k, that’s huge! You have learned that you can follow a program. You learned that you can run further than you ever thought possible. You learned what it’s like to go out for a run when you’re tired, but still finish. You’ve learned what that finish line glow of accomplishment really is feels as. And you can tap into all those memories and experiences again when you start working on a new goal.
Another thing I like to do, especially when I haven’t had success at something lately, is look for things I can be proud of in the process. I didn’t lift the 140 pound mark in my last strongman competition, but I did hit 127 pounds in training, which is way more than I could do when I started. My most recent half marathon wasn’t the best ever, but it was an intense effort over difficult terrain. On a smaller scale, I welcome every time I show up at the gym even though I almost talked myself out of it. I make it a point to say out loud, or write in my workout journal, or text my partner words like, “I did my workout today and I’m glad I did.”
What do you think of it so far?
Motivate yourself by watching others succeed
The next best thing to reflecting on your own past experiences is to vicariously experience the success of others. You will need to choose your models carefully; pay attention to who really inspires you.
For some people, looking up to a world-class athlete can inspire them in the gym. For others, celebrities and Olympic athletes may feel too out of reach, and in this case, it may be helpful to turn to someone who is closer to you in terms of skill level or experience. When your buddy hits a new deadlift PR, you’ll cheer him on, right? Even though you weren’t the one heading to the bar, you still felt a taste of the whole roller coaster of emotions being nervous about celebrating success.
Look for people who encourage you
Believing in yourself doesn’t have to be a solo project. Just like you can encourage a gym buddy, your buddy can also encourage you. Also make an effort to seek out instructors, coaches, and mentors who make you feel unstoppable. If someone you trust thinks you can do something, you’ll start to believe them too.
Visualize success (and failure)
When trying to stay on a path, it helps to know where that path leads. What will it look like to achieve your goal? How will you feel when you cross that finish line, when you reach that goal weight, when you eat vegetables with your meals for an entire year?
While you’re at it, if you’re up for it, also imagine scenarios in which you try to do the thing and momentarily fail. How will you feel if you get injured, a vacation derails you, or your gym buddy can no longer accompany you on deadlift day? Your plan is ambitious enough to survive these obstacles, but it will help to think about them in advance and plan how you will handle them. Then, when the time comes, you will not hesitate to execute your plan.
