Want to Believe In Yourself? ‘Mattering’ Is Key.

Gordon Flett came across the term “mattering” as a psychology graduate student. Sitting at his desk in 1987, poring over a textbook, “I immediately knew what mattering was,” he said. He remembered visiting his grandmother during the summer as a child and taking trips to the insulation plant where she managed the cafeteria. She hung on his every word, and her co-workers treated him like royalty. Recalling the experience, he could almost taste the Jell-O and chocolate milk. A few years later, the concept landed even closer to home. He was struggling to find research subjects for his master’s thesis and panic was rising.