Self-Worth Theory

I find I am more hesitant to agree with the self-worth theory than with other theories. My hestitance is probably due to the fact that, according to the self-worth theory, the key driving factor for humans (the desire to protect our self-worth) is not something I consider to be a conscious mission. If this self-worth theory is indeed the case for me, I am not aware of it, but maybe that's just because I haven't critically considered the possibility until now.

However, I can say definitively that I don't think majority of my own procrastination is driven by a suspicion of failure. When I procrastinate, I believe I'm postponing a given task because I'm not intrinsically motivated to do it. I'd probably be better at writing a reflection for class than I am at, say, photoshopping a gecko's head onto my father's body, but guess which one I'm more likely to spend my time on? (You guessed it.)

Now that I think about it, I guess my example is flawed because doing work is not the same as learning. In terms of younger students (who are new learners in many areas), I can see the correlation between insecurity or "fear of failure" and self-sabotage.

Sadly, avoidance of a weak topic only intensifies the student's problem because it's just more time without practice. I feel like we teachers often promote the idea that "all of us good at somethings and bad at others," and while I agree with that I think we need to make sure that the focus of this sentiment doesn't fall too heavily on accentuating the positive. While that is no doubt important, if we emphasize only that, we neglect the possibility and importance of improving our weaknesses. A bumpy start doesn't mean we can't have a smoother ride down the road.