Effort-Consequence Instead of Effort-Cause

In reality, one’s ability to put in an effort typically arises as a consequence of something, not as a major cause.

• To accomplish something, making an effort depends more on the right time and right place, rather than being the focal point.
• It’s also a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy: If we believe in our abilities to accomplish something, we are more motivated, then we perform better, which feeds our belief in our abilities, and so on and so forth, leading to an ongoing cycle of effort-as-a-consequence.
• Exerting effort is not always something that we can do over long periods of time.