Laughter – Part 9 – The Final Chapter

Well, you’ve done it. You’ve finally made it to the last joke….for a while. Today’s joke deals with Self-Efficacy. I hope you enjoy it.

A self-efficacy researcher walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender, curious, asks, “What line of work are you in?”

The researcher replies, “I study people’s beliefs in their ability to achieve goals.”

The bartender grins and says, “Oh, like when someone says they THINK they can become rich overnight?”

The researcher chuckles and responds, “Well, sort of, but it’s more about realistic confidence in their abilities.”

The bartender nods thoughtfully. “So, if I think I can mix the perfect cocktail with my eyes closed, that’s self-efficacy?”

The researcher says, “Exactly! But only if you’ve practiced and believe you can actually do it.”

The bartender gets excited, closes his eyes, begins juggling bottles and pouring different components into a glass. Miraculously, he nails it – a perfect cocktail!

The researcher, impressed, says, “Wow! Now that’s high self-efficacy!”

The bartender smiles and replies, “Thanks! Now do you have any tips for my friend? He keeps saying he can win the lottery with positive thinking.”

The researcher laughs, “That’s called optimism, my friend. High self-efficacy is knowing you can make the money back after wasting it on a lottery ticket!”

I often talk about positive thinking in my blogs, but what I really mean is “positive attitude”. Just like the joke, positive thinking won’t magically make things happen. But a positive attitude, an attitude you’ve worked on and practiced, can make a difference.

So, what is Self-Efficacy? It’s the belief that you can take action to change your circumstances. It’s the opposite of helplessness. We can’t cure Myasthenia Gravis just by thinking positively, but we can drastically change our circumstances if we believe we have the ability to do so.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you wake up and realize your symptoms are going to be bad today. You’ve done everything right, you’ve taken your medications as instructed, you haven’t overdone it, but today is one of those days when you’re feeling the ugliness of MG more than usual. At this point, you have three options. You can decide to let MG win, become a victim, lie on the couch in despair and have a pity party which will do absolutely nothing but make you feel worse. Or, you can think all the wonderful positive thoughts you want, but the symptoms are not going to go away. Or, you can believe in yourself and say, “In spite of not feeling good, I’m going to do something today to take my mind off my troubles.”

Those are your only three options. Which one are you going to choose?

The third option is a form of Self-Efficacy. You can’t change your situation, but you can choose to take action to change your circumstances. By refocusing your mind on other things, you’re not giving MG power over your mind. It may control your body, but your mind is yours to control.

It’s not positive thinking that will get you through this rough day, it’s a positive attitude, and a positive attitude only comes with practice and believing in yourself.

So, how do you develop a positive attitude? The first thing you need to do is realize what you’re capable and what you’re incapable of doing. You can’t cure MG. In most cases, you can’t even make the break-through symptoms go away. In other words, you can’t change the situation. What you ARE capable of doing is changing the circumstances and how you are reacting to the situation. If you recognize the situation and choose to not let your mind succumb to it by refocusing it on something worthwhile, you will change your circumstances and your attitude.

Changing your attitude doesn’t come naturally. We’re prewired to accept the attitude our mind gives us. We need practice. The first step after recognizing our situation is to force our mind to focus on something else. When you first begin to try this, it will be difficult. Your mind will want to either bring you back to focusing on the situation or wander in a direction that you don’t care to take. The more you practice refocusing your mind on what YOU want to focus on, the easier it will become. Eventually, it will feel almost natural to refocus your mind away from your situation and onto something that will brighten your attitude.

Have you ever been around someone who is suffering from an illness, yet you would never know it from their attitude? That’s how they do it. They have learned to refocus their thoughts and put on a positive attitude regardless of what their body is going through. It actually feels good being around a person who’s capable of doing this. Their positive attitude becomes contagious.

I try to have a positive attitude and a high self-efficacy. I’m not perfect at it yet, but I’m practicing and I’m improving. Talking with you on my blogs is one way I’ve found that helps me refocus. It helps me move from difficult situations to acceptable circumstances and a better outlook, all by refocusing my attitude.

Give it a try. See if it doesn’t make your circumstances better. See if it helps you make it through your toughest times more easily. If you practice it enough, it will come automatically.