Do or Do Not, There is no Try (Gasp!)

The Power of Self-Efficacy

True Q – S6E6

Self-efficacy! WTF is that! And why would I read this? Trust me. This is about the power of you. Here's how it rolls out:

Amanda Rogers, a young adult comes on board the Enterprise. It becomes apparent she has telekinetic powers, making objects appear and disappear. Q appears and informs the Captain that he created the warp core breach to determine if ‘the girl’ was Q. Apparently she was because she stopped the breach. Q answers Amanda’s questions about what they (Q) can do: “To put it simply, we’re omnipotent. There’s nothing, nothing we can’t do.” Amanda asks, “And what do you do with this power?” Q responds smugly with, “Anything. We. Want.”

He asks her what she would like to see and then tells her how to go about it. Amanda says, “I’d like to know what my parents look like.” Q tells her how to do it: “So do it. Summon the image. Think about them. Evoke the memory. You can do it, Amanda. Trust me. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. In your mind, return to the time when you were an infant. Think about your parents. Remember them. Good. Good. Now, open your eyes.” She sees her parents in front of her holding a baby and realizes with joy and what appears as resolution that they loved her.

Q gives us clues as to how to create intentions that yield results – image, memory, and focus. Even quantum physics tells us that what we think is what we get. There is enough science out there to prove to us that these things make a difference. I’m not talking about hocus-pocus stuff. I’m talking about hard science. Dr Bruce Lipton (2005), a cell biologist discovered that a cell’s life is controlled by its environment, not its genes. Further, he recognized that beliefs had an effect on cells in humans. Hence my statement, “What you think is what you get!”

Q and the Continuum represent the archetype of our personal power. In psychology, we call it self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1994), a psychologist known for his research in self-efficacy, it is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.” It is knowing that you have the ability to accomplish what you set out to do.

Maybe that's one reason we like technology and gaming, because we can change things. We create alter egos through our personal avatars and influence others in MMORPG’s. We get really good at gaming. Why? Because we have just enough accomplishment to create a sense of self-efficacy. This motivates us to continue. We are going for the hit. We persevere. We get creative. We are motivated.

This is a transferrable skill that we don’t fully utilize. We sometimes pre-judge the possibility of success before we even start. For example, “Well, there’s no sense in applying to BCIT for the Computer Science degree because they probably won’t let me in.” Or “The Medieval Blacksmithing Course if full, so there’s no sense in getting on the waiting list.” I also notice what happens when we let ourselves throw all these pre-judgments aside and ‘just do it’. Portals to new worlds open.

Amanda says to Dr. Crusher, “If it were you, if suddenly you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?”And later, Q says to Amanda, “Your future contains wonders you can’t even imagine. The universe could be your playground.” What if you framed your life with these statements as a foundation for your actions. When I think of the universe as being my playground, I feel energized and experience a sense of self-efficacy and motivation. I'm 'good to go'.

As a vision and possibility coach, I have watched empowerment and results skyrocket with this framework. I would love to be a personal coach just for geeks. They have so much to offer, yet sometimes, their gifts seem to be stuck or hidden under a garment absent of self-efficacy.

Toward the end, Amanda resolves her struggle and resistance with, “Ever since I got here, I’ve been fighting this. I’ve been denying the truth. Denying what I am. I am Q.” 

I think this is an excellent model for us. To accept ourselves as we are. And to go for what we want. To develop who we are. What parts of you have you been resisting? Resistance is futile. You can do and be anything you want. Engage!

References

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior, 4. New York: Academic Press, pp. 71-81.

Lipton, Bruce (2005). The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles. Santa Rosa, CA: Mountain of Love/Elite.