Hope is different than self-efficacy (i.e., self-confidence). It’s better.
In continuing the theme of why hope is different from other positive traits, I want to talk about self-efficacy.
I don’t often use or hear the word “self-efficacy” in daily conversation. However, I do hear the word “self-confidence” more regularly.
The science behind self-efficacy is that people influence the course of their lives through their behaviors. Like hope it deals with goals and how we think about and organize our behaviors to pursue future goals.
One of the main differences between self-efficacy and hope is that self-efficacy doesn’t address the intention to actually perform the behavior.
As Dr. Rick Snyder said, “self-efficacy is the belief that one can do something, not that one will do something.” That’s a big difference.
There are a number of things I’m confident I could do, but the number is much smaller of what I can do and what I have the motivation to get done - especially when significant barriers present themselves.
Another big difference is that self-efficacy is usually situation specific. You either believe you have the skills and ability to perform a particular action at a particular time or you don’t. Hope on the other hand is usually seen as a constant across different situations and contexts. Because you have accomplished goals in the past and your hope has risen, you can bring that same level of confidence to a new or unknown situation.
While we all have up and down days, our measure of hope is fairly constant (unless we have been taught how to increase our hope).
And being constant is a good thing because hope can influence our level of well-being across time and in different situations. Given the stressors and demands of our jobs, the ups and downs, the inconsistencies and lack of clarity, we need to develop higher levels of hope as a personal resource and protection.
Like with optimism, many of us can use more self-efficacy and self-confidence. But all of us can use more hope!
If you find my posts about hope helpful, please share so more people can learn about the science and power of hope.
If I can help you learn more about how to use hope to protect against job demands, please contact me at chris@mrchrisfreeze.com.
Chris
#hope #hoperising #burnout #leadership #optimism
(Adapted from Rand, K. L. (2018). Hope, self-efficacy, and optimism: Conceptual and empirical differences. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of hope (pp. 45-58). Oxford University Press.)
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