Being Agentic

In the psychological sense, agency entails a category of beliefs, a mindset. More profoundly, genuine agency includes the strategies and actions that accomplish what we want and bring us what we need.

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

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