Being Your Own HERO: Taking Ownership of Your Psychological Resources
“Having the right attitude and right state of mind are the first steps in any journey that we decide to take. Whether it is asking for a promotion, negotiating a raise, applying for a new job, or taking the leap to become an entrepreneur, having a positive outlook on your ability to be successful at that endeavor is important. When we are in spaces that we feel do not consider our well-being as a priority, we must prioritize it ourselves.” This is a passage from my forthcoming book, “Our Leadership Journey: Shared Stories, Lessons and Advice for Women of Color”, and it has been at the forefront of my mind as I think of all of the mental and emotional trauma I and have had to confront over the past few weeks.
Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash
If we covet one thing, it has to be our psychological wellbeing, especially in the current state of the world. Our outlook on life and our success in it, as well as our belief that we can get through trauma and come out of it with a modicum of sanity, is important for our survival.
One concept that I learned during my doctoral studies that I find to be valuable in creating a mind shift to move past adversity, was the idea of psychological capital (PsyCap). PsyCap is an individual’s positive psychological state of development characterized by:
Hope (H): the perseverance toward goals and, when necessary, the redirecting of the path to reach those goals in order to be successful
Efficacy (E): having confidence to take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks
Resiliency (R): when faced with challenges and adversity, the ability to sustain and bounce back and beyond those challenges to attain success, and
Optimism (O): making a positive attribution about succeeding now and in the future
High levels of psychological capital are critical if you want to be successful in both your personal and professional lives.
Getting Your Mind Right
In the words of the great Lauren Hill… “How you gon win when you ain’t right within?”
If we do not have the right state of mind, the likelihood that we will have the capacity to do the work to see our goals to fruition decreases.
Having a positive psychological state in every aspect of our lives is important in ensuring optimal functionality. Additionally, some research has shown that high levels of PsyCap positively influence overall well-being, health outcomes, lower cholesterol levels, lower body mass index (BMI), (Yep... it can help you lose weight), and higher satisfaction with relationships (Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio, 2007).
Taking Ownership of Your Resources
We all have goals right… outcomes we strive to attain. Now if we cannot see ourselves attaining those goals or don’t have the resolve to take the appropriate steps to reaching them, how can we expect to achieve them?
Here is where HERO comes in…
Hope is in essence, the Will and the Way. It is our ability the persevere toward goals and, when necessary, redirecting our path to reach those goals in order to be successful (The Will). Yes, we all will come across roadblocks, but hope is knowing the path you want to take, as well as alternative routes to get you there (The Way). And there is never only just one way to do anything, including reaching your goals.
Efficacy, specifically self-efficacy is having the confidence that you will succeed. When you are confident, you welcome challenges and opportunities to use your skills and strengths. You are encouraged to pursue your goals and put in the work to accomplish them. It helps you persevere when there are roadblocks that try to prevent you from reaching your goal.
One of the ways in which we can increase our self-efficacy is through feedback. Specifically, affirmations and even more so, self-affirmations. While external feedback is important, especially positive feedback, what we tell ourselves about our ability to be successful is the most imortant.
Resilience is the capacity to bounce back from any challenging situation, adversity, conflict, or failure. As I think of the world, how our communities have been and are being treated, I would say resilience is in our DNA.
We are constantly being confronted by racism, sexism, misogynism, all of the isms, every single day, since the day we were born.
High levels of resilience allow us to take a proactive approach. Our ability to be resilient in difficult situations shows those that we can get through challenges; that there is a path forward. When we are effective at doing that, we are effective at creating positive change.
Optimism is defined as attributing positive events that happen in our lives to something that we were in control of and that will be permanent and omni present. As optimist, we control the narrative. We control our story and we see the changes we make as lasting change.
When we go into situations having an awareness that how we see the outcome will actually impact the outcome, that’s very powerful. It allows us to take full control of our own actions because we understand the influence our behavior will have on everyone else in the room.
Be Your Own HERO
So what does all of this mean?
We have to take responsibility for our psychological resources, build them up, and use them to manifest the success we have defined for ourselves.
For me, it took some time to get to where I am today. A short while ago, I began a healing journey. And on that journey, I discovered my strengths, and started loving and living for myself, and took back ownership of my psychological resources, I began to admire me. I became braver. I became motivated and began striving for the success I knew I deserved. I had hope. I believed in my ability to accomplish my goals. I began to bounce back and beyond from the adversity that I faced in my life, and in my places of work, and I began approaching life, my dreams and my goals expecting that I would be successful in achieving them. I was able to do all of this is because I began to look to myself for the answers I needed.
When we take responsibility for ourselves and our own wellbeing, we take the power out of the hands of those who do not wish us well.