by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman

The title of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal caught my attention—“If at First you don’t Succeed, You’re in Excellent Company,” especially because Julie Andrews is mentioned in the first paragraph.

Andrews wasn’t considered photogenic enough in her first screen test; the initial Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times and Decca records turned down the Beatles. Edison tried 1000 times before he perfected the light bulb.

People who rebound from defeat and go on to greatness while others throw in the towel, have “self-efficacy,” first described by Alfred Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford University, in the 70’s.

It differs from “self-esteem” in that it deals with specific capabilities, rather than a general feeling of self worth.  Those with self-efficacy believe that persistent effort will let them beat the odds.

It’s important to know that it’s never too late to recover and teachers at Emory University are being taught how to deal with self-defeating assumptions, to help kids who live in adversity to become resilient.  Stay positive! It can work!