The beliefs we have about our capacity to perform in a new situation are not based only on previous performances. Perceived self-efficacy is often a better predicator of success than actual past performance. Absent a belief in our own perceived self-efficacy, all of us would be simply pawns of our past, with no capacity to change.

The good news is that development  of self-efficacy is a dynamic and ongoing cognitive process, rather than a mechanical audit of performances. Through life's experiences, and what we think and feel about them, we evolve a structural sense of our "self."

The value we give to new experiences, and how those experiences reshape memory, depends on the nature and strength of the self-beliefs into which we integrate these experiences. Our belief system acts as a filter through which all new incoming information is interpreted. Stabilizing self-beliefs serve us well when they are positive. Once a strong sense of efficacy is developed failure is unlikely to undermine belief in our capabilities.

By early adulthood, most of us carry in our heads a huge database of things we have no intention of trying again. Who wants to bump her head more than once? We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It narrows down our options. we are less willing to experiment and explore. We are less likely to risk. Yet the very process of learning involves making mistakes, fumbling, and coming back to try again. And for some of us, it means coming back again and again and again.

As John Gardner in his book on Self Renewal said, "If you want to keep learning, you have to risk failure - all your life. It's as simple as that!" Without the risk of action, Self-Wealth remains an elusive dream.

posted by Ingrid Dreyer

www.personal-development-growth.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

personal-development-growth a website for self help,self improvement, Leadership, Personal Growth, Health, and Business ,please read my blog and contribute, we welcome your comments

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------