Agency Is the Highest Level of Personal Competence

 

 

Agency Is the Highest Level of Personal Competence

Whatever your level, you can hold steady, decline, or grow.

Feeling that you have agency is nice. But feeling agentic falls far short of exercising agency—thinking and behaving competently and making real progress toward your desired goals.

To exercise agency is to acquire significant control over your outcomes in life’s various arenas, including school, work, sports, physical health, and psychological well-being.

The Four Pillars of Personal Agency

Full-fledged agency requires believing you can achieve your goal and engaging in the following activities:

1. Forethought: deciding to take on a challenge, thinking ahead, setting goals, and making plans.

2. Implementation: taking first steps, enacting plans, and persisting toward success.

3. Self-management: taking care of yourself, dealing with emotions and stress, and maintaining good health to sustain your efforts.

4. Learning and adapting: monitoring progress, rethinking strategies and tactics, and making effective adjustments.

Thoughtfully executing all four pillars of agency contributes to your personal and professional growth while helping you perform over time. 

Agency is thus a vital source of power, a capability, a competence that can contribute to your overall well-being.

 

Read more:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/getting-proactive/202203/agency-is-the-highest-level-personal-competence?msockid=1dd14bd34e546e2c051d5a524ff76f4f