Authors:
Timothy A. Judge and Charlice Hurst
Publisher:
Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 93, No. 4
Date Published:
July 2008
As amorphous as it may sound, having a positive mental attitude and high self-esteem can literally double the chances of career success, according to this study, which is one of the first to examine the effects of dispositional influences on career trajectories. Piggybacking on a wide-ranging survey of roughly 12,000 participants from 1979 to 2004 conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the authors found that participants who scored high on self-evaluations enjoyed success earlier in their careers, engaged in continued higher education, and advanced more quickly than those who scored lower on self-evaluations. Moreover, the advantages gained by having a positive self-image compounded over the 25-year period and were strongly correlated with overall career satisfaction, higher pay, and better health.
Bottom Line:
Believing in oneself is more than just a motivational slogan; it can strongly influence long-term career advancement and overall health.
