My passion for discovery is often ignited by a concept I’ve never fully explored; that’s how I arrived here. Through my years of mentoring and coaching, I’ve had many conversations about self-esteem. Who wouldn’t get a boost from some extra self-esteem? In building my practice and expanding my skills set in applied positive psychology, I wanted to discover what the literature reveals about a person’s capacity to build self-esteem and the link to positive psychology. The link turns out to be persistence.
Dean (2006) writes a compelling case for persistence and the development of self-esteem by compiling several studies that explore goal-setting. He cites the definition of persistence from Peterson and Seligman (2004, 229) as a “voluntary continuation of a goal-directed action in spite of obstacles, difficulties or discouragement.” Like Thomas Edison, who reportedly put more than 6,000 substances to the test before discovering carbonized filament for his light bulb, we demonstrate real persistence only if the goal presents a challenge. People tend to persist longer at solving problems when they are told that what they are doing is difficult as opposed to easy (Starnes, 1983; Frankel, 1978). Persistence builds self-esteem when there is measurable evidence that a person has persevered toward an estimable goal despite setbacks and disappointments, keeping his/her eyes on a reasonable but somewhat illusive prize.
There’s a direct connection to positive psychology and well-being from this. In his seminal work Flourish, Seligman expands on his earlier concepts by using the acronym PERMA to more fully define “Well-being” by establishing these five factors: Positive emotion, Engagement, positive Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. These five factors are now widely accepted as the elements of human well-being, and Accomplishment is the tie-in to persistence and self-esteem. A person who persists to attain challenging goals, past distractions and hardships, increases self-esteem and learns the value of Accomplishment.
How interesting that challenge is a linchpin in fostering persistence, building self-esteem and in finding flow. Challenge protects our egos while we strive: there is little shame at failing to achieve a difficult task. Persisting to complete a challenging task boosts our self-worth. Challenge prevents us from getting bored or distracted as well, providing the special ingredient in an activity for which time and physical conditions seem to fall away, transporting us with the powerful feeling of flow. Fascinating.
How can you develop persistence and pump up your self-esteem? Consider one or more of these suggestions from Dr. Jonathan Haidt (a psychologist at the University of Virginia):
- Set a goal and create a plan to stick to it.
- Start using a time management tool (e.g. daily planner or Google calendar). Find a system for you and really use it.
- Finish a project ahead of time.
- Take notice of your thoughts about stopping a task and make an effort to dismiss them. Just focus on the task at hand.
- Each morning, make a list of things you want to accomplish that you could put off until the next day. Make sure you get those things done and checked off of your list.
With Happy Thoughts of Your Success,
Dr Mell
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Dean, B (2006). “Persistence.” Authentic Happiness Coaching Newsletter.http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/newsletter.aspx?id=73
Frankel, A & Snyder, M L (1978). “Poor performance following unsolvable problems: Learned helplessness or egotism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1415-1423.
Haidt, J (2010). qtd. in “Persistence.” Authentic Happiness Coaching Newsletter. http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/newsletter.aspx?id=73
Peterson, C & Seligman, M E P (2004). “Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 229-30.
Seligman, M E P (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press.
Starnes, D & Zinser, O (1983). “The effect of problem difficulty, locus of control, and sex on task persistence.” Journal of General Psychology, 108, 249-255.
