Answered from How to Make a Difference: Part 1 · Hidden Brain · 2026-09-21
Seligman describes agency as the opposite of learned helplessness, built from three beliefs. Efficacy is the belief that you can reach a specific goal here and now. Optimism is the belief that you can keep reaching it into the far future. Imagination is the range of goals you can picture achieving, and the broader that range, the more agency. Full-blown agency combines all three.
“Agency is the opposite of learned helplessness.” Martin Seligman · at 37:37 — open in the transcript →
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-09-21). Read the whole episode summary →