Agency
What is agency?
Agency is the power to make and act on your own decisions.
What is confidence?
Confidence is your belief in your ability to do something.
What is visualization?
You imagine how it would look, sound, and feel to be confident in what you’re about to do.
Name two sources of encouragement and what they could say.
A teacher saying they’re proud of your effort on a book report, a teammate cheering you up after a tough loss, a friend inviting you to join a photography club after seeing your pictures, a family member making your favorite meal so you feel your best before a test, a basketball coach suggesting ways to improve your jumpshot
How does agency affect encouragement?
You can choose the people you receive encouragement from, who you surround yourself with, and the type of encouragement you receive.
Give two examples of times when you have agency.
Examples: who you are friends with, what music you listen to, what you are doing on a weekend, what electives you do in high school.
What are the four sources of confidence?
Physical and Emotional state, Observing others, Encouragement, and Past Experiences.
What are some strategies to help your physical and emotion state?
Muscle relaxation techniques, keeping a gratitude journal, slow breathing, visualization, getting enough sleep, eating a good meal
Share a time when someone gave you encouragement.
Examples: A teacher, a parent, a friend, a coach
How does agency affect observing others?
You can find people to observe.
Give two examples of times when you do not have agency.
Examples: Where you live while a minor, general education courses in school (English, Math), Politics as a minor, what time soccer practice ends.
How can your physical and emotional state affect your confidence?
If you’re feeling positive and energized, you’re more likely to believe you can accomplish a task. But if you’re hungry, tired, or stressed, it could lower your confidence.
How can past experiences help with confidence?
If you’ve succeeded at something in the past, you’re more likely to believe you can do it again in the future.
Overcoming challenges and solving difficult problems can help build confidence.
Share one of your biggest accomplishments. How does it make you feel?
Examples: I passed a class that I thought I was going to fail and it made me feel proud.
I completed a breast cancer awareness walk with my family and I felt strong and a sense of community.
How does agency affect physical and emotional state?
You have control over what you do to improve these things, you can make better and healthier habits and use emotional management strategies.
What are some limits on agency?
Needing transportation, needing parental permission, age requirements, needing money.
How does observing others build confidence?
Watching someone doing something difficult and succeeding at it can boost your confidence.
Can you build confidence by observing someone who is still learning a skill? Why or why not?
Yes, watching others figure things out, make mistakes and learn from them, and knowing that you can do that too is all helpful to building confidence.
Success in one area can give you confidence in others. If you worked hard and overcame roadblocks before, you know you can do it again. Share a time when faced a roadblock. What kept you going?
Example: When I first started drawing, all of my art looked so bad. I saw how cool other people's art looked on social media and really wanted to do the same. Seeing their success motivated me to keep drawing until I got better.
How does agency relate to past experiences?
You can choose to keep trying when attempting to complete difficult tasks, the more you do this, the more experiences you will have with success and learning from mistakes.
Pick an area in your life you would want to have more agency in. What would that look like? What would you be able to do?
I wish I had more agency in choosing my clothes, they are hand-me-downs from my older siblings. If I had more agency in this, I could choose more clothes that are my favorite color and things that I like
I want to have more agency in how I spend my weekends. I want to be able to go to San Diego with my friends and get home a little later.
Give two examples of people you could go to for encouragement?
Family members, Friends, Teachers, Coaches, Community members, Teammates
Share a time when you prepared your physical or emotional state. What did you do? Did it help?
Examples: I made sure to sleep enough and have breakfast before a big exam. It made me feel more calm and focused on the exam and I passed. I started keeping a journal of good things that happened throughout the day. When I was having a hard day and felt down, I was able to look back and remind myself of the good things.
Can someone feel confident all of the time? Why or why not?
Example: No, everyone feels down or unsure about themselves sometimes.
What is something you want to build confidence in? How can you best accomplish this? Which source of confidence will be most beneficial?
Example: I want to build confidence in making friends, the source that will most help me is physical and emotional state. I will practice reframing unhelpful thoughts and visualization to feel better about social interactions before they happen.