If you feel you are in control of your situation and the things that happen to you, you are thought to have a strong internal locus of control. Who controls your happiness? Who controls your income? Who controls your attitude? Clearly there are people who feel they are personally in control of everything in their lives and people who think they are in control of nothing. But what about the more difficult circumstances in life. We all know there are things for which we have no control (e.g., the weather) and things for which we have total control (e.g., the selection for your favorite cold beverage). Let’s explore the connection.Įveryone has some belief about how much control they have over the things they encounter in life. I recently came across some research on the topic of locus of control that got me wondering about the correlation it may have to first responder safety and risk taking. It is often associated with how a person views what happens to them in life and who is responsible for their successes and failures. X marks a pretty darned empowering and mentally healthy spot! Where do you imagine you are on the continuum from External to Internal Locus of Control? Where would you like to be? I know from my tumultuous early thirties, I have moved significantly to the right.Locus of control is a psychological principal that refers to the extent to which a person feels they are in control of the events that can affect their life, well-being or success. We are somewhere on a continuum as the line indicates below.Įxternal Locus of Control -–X-Internal Locus of Control None of us have a perfect Internal Locus of Control. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” The Serenity Prayer is commonly quoted as: This prayer has been used for decades by Twelve Step Programs. The theologian Reinhold Niebuhr created the serenity prayer which has helped many develop their Internal Locus of Control. What happens to me is largely the result of my efforts and choices.Those with a strong INTERNAL Locus of Control often: It doesn’t matter what I think, believe or do.My happiness is dependent on others’ approval and perceptions. My thoughts, choices, and behaviors do not affect my life.Those with a strong EXTERNAL Locus of Control often: What an individual believes about their internal or external locus of control becomes self-fulfilling. Those who take the most effective action on their own behalf believe they are primarily in control of their lives. Those who are passive about their well-being believe they have little or no control over their lives. They often perceive themselves as victims of their situations. Those with a strong external locus of control believe that they are primarily at the mercy of other people, fate or chance. Where do you reside in your mind and attitude-internally or externally? Those with a strong internal locus of control believe that they are primarily in charge of their lives. As a survivor of The Holocaust, he describes his discovery in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning. But the late psychiatrist and author, Viktor Frankl, described how our internal Locus of Control can help us survive challenges, even unspeakable adversity. We have a sense of being controlled by the events and circumstances outside of ourselves. For many of us, it feels as if life is happening to us.
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