Individuation
Etymology
From Latin "individuus" (indivisible), the same root as "individual." Carl Jung made it the centerpiece of his analytic psychology, using it for the process by which a person becomes a unified, indivisible self. This is a specifically Jungian sense layered onto the older philosophical term.
noun · /in-dih-vij-oo-AY-shun/
The lifelong process of becoming a distinct, integrated self by reconciling the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche.
What it names
A rich term for psychological maturing — the work of separating your true self from inherited roles and expectations and drawing the disowned parts of you into a whole person.
Example
Leaving the family business was part of his individuation — the point at which his life stopped being a script others had written.
Related idea
Related to self-efficacy only loosely; individuation is about who you become, not what you can do, and it centers on integrating the parts of yourself you have long refused to look at.