Focus on Your Lane – Using Self-Efficacy to Build Enduring Confidence
Despite my training, achievements, and skills, there were certainly times I felt like I’d hit a wall. The confidence I had during university and my early career seemed to waver, and instead of owning the racetrack with the wind in my hair, I felt like I was crawling through mud.
Oftentimes, self-efficacy, or confidence, is misunderstood as something that we’re born with. You’re either a confident person or you’re not. The research paints a more nuanced picture, and shows self-efficacy to be a developable skill, so let’s break it down into its constituent pillars, and see how each one can be used to build confidence. But first, let’s define it:
“Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the sources of action required to manage prospective situations.”
Pillar 1 - Domain Specific
You may feel like a superstar at karaoke, but shudder at the thought of public speaking; have no trouble completing a marathon, but have two left feet when a ball’s involved.
One might argue that dentistry is a domain, but in fact, it can be broken down into further domains; work settings, clinical procedures, patient demographics, communication skills, emotional management, business acumen, and the list goes on. Your self-efficacy levels likely vary across the domains, and the first step is to recognise where your levels are for each one.
Pillar 2 – Practice & Improvement
Who remembers their first practice cavity preparation in dental school? Or their first denture wax-up?
How much better are you now at handling resistant patients? Or completing a quadrant rubber dam set up in 2 minutes flat? Although no two mouths or patients are the same, as those skills are built, so too are your self-efficacy levels. So practise, practise, practise.
Regardless of how efficacious we feel, there is always room for improvement. And with a growth mindset and self-compassion, we can continuously grow even in domains we’ve mastered. Given the high levels of perfectionism in dentistry, I wonder if that limits how efficacious we allow ourselves to feel? Do we subconsciously tell ourselves we aren’t efficacious until we’re perfect?
Remember to aim for excellence, not perfection.
Pillar 3 - Influenced by Others
How did you feel with your favourite tutor or supportive boss by your side?
Did you ever have to stop yourself scrolling through yet another perfect case on social media?
Have you felt great after a busy day, until your colleague boasted about their production?
This is an important pillar of self-efficacy, as it highlights the impact of our environment and the influence of those around us.
Ensure you’re surrounding yourself with compassionate colleagues, supportive seniors, and motivating mentors, people who are there to lift you, not their egos.
Pillar 4 - Variability
And finally, a whole host of factors can influence our self-efficacy levels, and we can find it varies even day to day. If we didn’t get a full night’s sleep and skipped breakfast, we’re not as likely to feel efficacious that day. Whereas if we’ve broken a personal record at our morning gym session, chances are we’re going to feel like we can handle anything!
Give your confidence the best chance by sleeping, eating, and exercising well. And don’t underestimate what a mood booster can do!
As you’re working towards your next goal or warding off imposter syndrome, consider the 4 pillars of self-efficacy and which levers can be pulled to increase your confidence levels. What needs to be added (or taken away), to give you the best chance of growing into your potential? Build your confidence from the inside out; your future self will thank you for it.
“It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves.”
