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Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Most people find a straightforward answer to this question; they know whether their glass is half full, half empty or somewhere in between. And they’re likely to be able to justify their mindset – whether it’s that adopting a pessimistic view prevents disappointment or that looking on the bright side reaps rewards.
But there’s another mindset-related question that deserves equal, if not more, attention for those wanting to get the best out of life: where is your locus of control?
‘Locus of control’: a phrase often met with blank looks, which is a shame as it’s one of the most powerful ideas in psychology, and also one of the most under-utilized ideas in real life. The concept was put forward by Julian Rotter in 1954, who suggested that people fall into two camps: those with an external locus of control, who believe that what happens to them is the result of chance, fate, luck and forces outside their control; and those with an internal locus of control, who believe that their life’s lot is a result of their own choices and behavior.
Of course, it’s not an absolute dichotomy; you can imagine locus of control as a scale from external to internal, along which we all sit. At its most extreme, an external locus of control leads to a victim mentality: those people who constantly berate their bad luck without doing anything about it. Unsurprisingly, these people expend an awful lot of mental effort without achieving very much.
On the other end of the scale are people with an internal locus of control, who believe that you get what you give, and who take responsibility for achieving their goals. Decades of research has shown that these people come off a lot better than their externally-located counterparts. People with an internal locus of control are likely to:
- Perform better at work and school
- Be happier in their jobs and lives in general
- Have better quality relationships
- Suffer less stress, anxiety and depression
- Cope better with problems
- Be healthier
- Earn more
- Live longer
Locus of control is formed at a very young age – some researchers claim that it’s influenced by how authoritative or nurturing your parents were. Y ou can tell where someone’s locus of control is located simply by listening to them speak about what’s going on in their life. Do they moan about their unreasonable boss, blame their partner for relationship troubles and claim there’s nothing they can do about their noisy neighbors? Or do they talk mostly about solutions to their challenges and action plans to achieve their goals?
Of course we all slip into victim mode from time to time. But in a volatile and fast-moving marketplace, those who sit back and passively worry about all the things that might go wrong won’t last for long. In any business – most of all a start-up – the list of concerns is almost endless. Clients’ budgets being cut, a competitor’s new offer, talented employees leaving…instead of fretting about these things, it’s far more productive to focus on the aspects you can control and take action. While you can’t set your clients’ budgets, you can focus on nurturing the relationship so that you’re at the front of their mind when deciding how to spend it. You can’t change what your competitors offer but you can devote time and energy to innovating internally. And you can’t stop people from working elsewhere, but you can take steps to increase employee engagement and have regular development conversations so that they feel less tempted to look.
An internal locus of control is just as pertinent in your personal life: you may not be able to prevent global warming but you can do your bit by recycling and voting for a green political party. You can’t boost a slumping housing market but you can redecorate to increase the likelihood of selling your home. And while you can’t (or perhaps, shouldn’t) force your partner to cook dinner, but you can explain to them how much you appreciate it and buy them something special next time they do.
Whatever the situation or concern, there is always something you can do to take control. Your actions might not make a difference immediately and you certainly won’t always get the outcome you want. But one thing is for sure: you’re far more likely to succeed than if you did nothing at all.
Follow @DrSebBailey on twitter or on Forbes at the top of this post.
My new book, Mind Gym: Achieve More by Thinking Differently is now available in bookstores nationwide.
