Beliefs – Confidence – Performance

Research has shown that what people believe is more predictive for their performance than their skill level. In other word, the person who believes he or she can be successful at something, will have a better outcome than the person who perhaps has a higher level of skills (See, “The Power of a Mindset”).

Here’s an example. I was hired for a particular job. The job I was hired for, I mastered in a few months, so I decided I needed to begin looking for something else to do.

I looked at one job that had a lot of learning to it, which I liked because I love to learn. There was one problem with the job. It was very stationary and I’m a person who enjoys moving about. This was a long 10-hour shift, and I didn’t think I would be able to stand in that one spot for 10 hours.

As I continued searching for the right next move, I saw this one job that had a lot of movement, and it also had a lot of hand activity which was perfect for me because I’m good at things where I use my hands. I believed it was something I could do that well, and enjoy.

Next, I began seeking out help through managers and supervisors to find out about training for the new position. The response was surprising. Many people, some who did not even know me, began to tell me about how I couldn’t do this job. People would literally approach me and tell me all manner of negative things about the job, and these were people I didn’t know or ask about the job.

At first, I backed off thinking it must be an awful job. But as I continued being bored with what I was doing, I decided to try the new job anyway. So I fought to be trained and eventually got into a training class.

The moment I stepped into the job, it was a natural for me as any job function could be. It was almost magical.

The moral of the story is that what I believed predicted my success, when all the facts said otherwise.