In studying the whole idea of the ability to create action, my previous article alluded to a concept known as personal power. However, just defining personal power as the ability to take action is insufficient. I can take action, but why should I if I know that it will end up in failure? The most common theme in success training is simply that “you can”. It’s great and inspirational, but fairly limiting if you don’t have accompanying skills.

In my previous article, I had focused quite heavily on Psychological Capital or PsyCap. Today, I’d like to zoom into one major element of PsyCap known as self-efficacy. This has been highly validated in the research literature so this isn’t going to be an academic discussion. Rather, this is an attempt to put the science into practice and leverage the value of the research.

For the longest time, I’d been training people in advancing their self-efficacy and didn’t realize it. But what you don’t know also means you don’t really know what you are doing and how much more you can do.

I’ve been speaking with people who are supposed to be employed and supposed to be satisfied with their lot in life. But they are unhappy. I say “supposed” because when you make a fair and objective comparison, they shouldn’t have any problems and yet they are somehow not satisfied with their work, their environment or company direction. The company gives fantastic perks, the possibility of promotion, challenge and more, so you might be wondering what’s wrong with these people, right?

It seems that few people actually understand the notion of motivation. To most, motivation is a feeling. It’s the rush and the high that gets people excited, and all too often, causes disappointment because it didn’t last. But why have such expectations in the first place? Usually, people think of motivation as a harbinger of disappointment. The typical skeptic that sits in the audience with folded arms waiting to see how long this will last. Sadly, for such people, they will never get to enjoy the benefits of exhilaration of the moment. But that’s not even what this post is about. Motivation is a feeling. But for motivation to influence performance, it needs to be structured in the environment of performance. It is also cognitive (thought based), and requires a set of skills to be able to maintain.

Everyone faces their darkest hour at some point of life or other. These moments may be traumatic, demeaning and just plain ugly. As a life coach and counselor to some, I’ve discovered that there’s a reason why I get a chance to participate in their lives and to illuminate them. At other times, I participate in the darkness through negative thinking and being pessimistic. While I believe both sides are just as pervasive in our lives, the question is whether we choose one over the other.

It’s been a little bit of a stretch this week working on book, new participants and catching up with some friends while charting a new academic path.

I’ve come to discover more about myself over the years, and sometimes, it’s not really an easy pill to swallow. As much as I am teaching the ideas of success and achievement, I think I belong in a very different world than what people think I am living in.

Sure, a lot of achievements that I have gotten are “successes” as deemed by people: publishing a bestseller, running a multi-million dollar company, being a recognized expert in a field of expertise and so on.

I’ve been lucky to have picked up the skill of accelerated learning in my earlier years. It’s the single most important thing that has allowed me to be the person I am and fit into the knowledge economy. Having said that, I know a lot of people are struggling to develop their capabilities. Their main excuse is that learning is difficult and that they have been born with a poor memory.