In order for you to achieve your goals or improve your happiness in any aspect of your life, you should start by asking yourself a really important question:
Who or what is primarily responsible for my success and happiness?
How you answer this question is going to fundamentally determine the likelihood of you achieving your goal regardless of the challenges you might face.
In order for you to better understand the importance of this question, and how it applies to your life, we are going to introduce you to a concept called the Locus of Control.
At its core, the Locus of Control is essentially a way of defining the source of your success and happiness.
Ultimately, there are two types of people in the world. Those who have an internal locus of control and those who have an external locus of control.
Someone with an external locus of control is looking out a window. Those with an internal locus of control are looking into a mirror.
So, what do we actually mean by that?
Type 1: External Locus of Control
Someone with an external locus of control believes that they are a reflection of the world around them. They have a fundamental belief that the source of their success and happiness is primarily shaped by external conditions.
Type 2: Internal Locus of Control
Someone with an internal locus of control believes that the world reflects them. They have a fundamental belief that the source of their success and happiness is primarily shaped by internal decisions.
External vs. Internal Locus of Control
Now we understand at a high level the differences between someone with an internal locus of control and someone with an external locus of control, let’s take a look at how this actually applies to situations that occur in our daily lives.
Someone with an external locus of control would typically say things like:
- “I was late for work today because the traffic was bad.”
- “I didn’t get that promotion at work because my boss doesn’t support me.”
- “We lost that game of football because the referee was unfair.”
- “I can’t send my kids to private schools because the government doesn’t do enough “to support working families.”
- “I didn’t get high distinctions at university because the course piles too much work on at once.”
In contrast, someone with an internal locus of control would be more likely to say:
- “I was late for work today because I didn’t allow for the traffic.”
- “I didn’t get that promotion at work because I didn’t proactively demonstrate what I was capable of to my boss.”
- “We lost that game of football because the team didn’t play well enough.”
- “I can’t send my kids to private school because I didn’t work smart enough to have enough money.”
- “I didn’t get high distinctions at university because I didn’t plan or use my time effectively.”
As you can see, the person with an external locus of control consistently made excuses for the things they did not achieve. Without realising it, they have made themselves a victim of their own lives.
They look to assign blame to something or someone else, and find circumstances or conditions that are stopping them from achieving the things they want in life.
In comparison, in all the statements made by someone with an internal locus of control, they are taking responsibility for their circumstances.
Someone with an internal locus of control understands the role they personally play in creating the lives they want, and take ownership of their goals, happiness and actions.
Becoming someone with an internal locus of control can be difficult, and it won’t necessarily happen overnight. However making a conscious effort to reframe how you think about and respond to day-to-day situations will play a vital role in enabling you to take ownership of your life.
Watch this video for more insights into the Locus of Control and how to apply it to your life.
The Locus of Control is one of the core areas we dive into in our Personal Mastery short course. This program is designed to help you be the best you can be and equip you to achieve greater success in all parts of your life.
So if you want to accelerate your personal growth in 2018 and be the person who actually achieves their goals enrol through this link here.
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