How can we keep constant stress at bay and stop chasing after to-dos in everyday life? What might help us to not shy away from tasks or dwell on setbacks for ages? Positive psychology offers valuable resources here. We spoke with Matthijs Steeneveld about the psychological capital that each one of us has and can increase with a bit of training.
Positive psychology is the science and practice of what makes people flourish. It was founded to bring more balance to the field of psychology by not only focusing on “what’s wrong,” but also focusing on well-being, strengths, resilience and more. Positive psychology doesn’t deny the bad, by the way. It’s a scientific field with many practical applications, that covers subjects like positive emotions, strengths, meaning, motivation, optimism.
Psychological capital or “PsyCap” is a collection of four characteristics – optimism, hope, self-efficacy and resilience – that help you cope well with challenges. People with higher psychological capital suffer less from stress, have higher well-being and perform better. The good news: everyone already has (some) psychological capital and you can train to develop more of it.
An easy first step is to think about how you dealt successfully with challenges in the past. What did you do? How did you fix a problem, how were you able to take action, what helped you to become more hopeful and see the possibilities? These are your own instances of optimism, hope, resilience and self-efficacy. How can you use those experiences for a challenge that you’re facing now? It might help to write down your reflections or talk about it with others.
It’s important to note, however, that the people around you influence your PsyCap. A supportive family, employer, friends, etc. help us to deal with setbacks (resilience) for example.
Well, it certainly asks some effort – just like sport or any other training. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s stressful in a bad way. Stress isn’t a problem in itself, chronic stress that is (or seems) out of your control is a problem. An interesting finding in research is that people with higher psychological capital don’t experience less stress, but they suffer less from it.
Back to the training: I’d put it the other way around. You don’t have to train. If you want to, you can choose to train and develop your capacity to deal with all kinds of challenges.
Confidence, or “self-efficacy,” as the famous psychologist, Albert Bandura, called it, is something you can build up. It starts with specifying the task, the activity in which you want to become more confident: a work task, or perhaps meeting strangers at a party, asking for help, etc.
Next, try to split that activity up into smaller actions. Say you want to become more confident in giving a presentation during a meeting. You can split that up into 1) creating the outline of your presentation, 2) making the presentation, 3) telling your story during the meeting, 4) responding to questions and reactions. Ask yourself: for which components would you like some extra confidence?
Next, you can train your confidence for these specific tasks. The best way, according to Bandura, is to practice the activity. Give your presentation in front of a single colleague or the mirror, for example. Reflect on what went well and what you can do better next time. If that’s too big a step, you can also try to create a detailed plan or even visualize yourself doing it: when you know how you’re going to do a certain task, you’re more confident that you’ll accomplish it. Also, you can look for role-models: someone is good at the task but still “within range” for you. Observe that person: what do they do well? What can you learn from them?
In a way, this is how you learn a lot of things, although we’re often not conscious of that. Learning to drive, to swim, to ride a bike: the first few times might feel terrifying but with practice comes confidence. It’s the same for many other activities as well.
First of all, let go of the need to “do it well”! The only thing you need to do with a first step is to take it. The 10th step is just as good to make progress. Put in another way, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. So, no pressure, every step will bring you a little further.
Getting started might still be difficult. Try to make it easy to start. Get the materials you’ll need and make sure they’re ready to use. Create some helpful social pressure by making an appointment with someone else or telling other people about your plans. And reflect upon your motivations: what helps you to get started?
You might want to schedule “maintenance checks,” either for yourself or with someone else. In such a check, you can reflect on your growth and whether your psychological capital is still up to the challenges you’ll face. Alternatively, you can take a moment each week to reflect on whether you’re facing any challenges or obstacles that will hinder you too much. Ask yourself: what might help you to deal with these?
Besides this, it often is motivating to reflect on how this process has been valuable to you. Have you noticed that you feel better, suffer less from stress, or are able to accomplish your goals? These may be the best reasons to keep up your efforts.
Positive organizational psychologist. He trains and consults organizations on strengths use, positive organizational change, and psychological capital. He is co-founder of the Dutch Bureau for Positive Psychology, where he trains professionals to work with positive psychology. He is the author of several books on psychological capital, self-compassion, and appreciative inquiry
