Locus of control is a psychological term – locus meaning location – where your feelings of control originate.
There are two types: internal and external
Internal locus of control is the belief that you are in charge of the events that occur in your life, so change comes from you; external locus of control is the belief that chance, fate, or outside forces determine your life events.
There is no right or wrong way, however those with greater resilience tend to be internally driven, they believe they are in control of their own life. They have a greater degree of belief in themselves
People with an external locus of control tend to view themselves more as passengers rather than drivers. In some ways this can be a good thing, they tend to work really well with others, excellent in team situations and tend to be able to let go of stresses easier.
A key attribute of resilience is accountability; being responsibility for your decisions, your actions and the direction that your life takes.
When we shift locus of control from the external to the internal we tend to find more energy, motivation, and confidence to change. Knowing this about yourself won’t fundamentally change your life today but it is something to remember, if you do find it difficult to bounce back and wondering why life just seems to happen to you, it may be that you are driven externally.
You can increase your internal locus of control by learning to taking responsibility rather than shifting blame to someone or something other than you. It’s starting to shift thoughts like “if this happens”, “I hope they see my effort” or “it will take some luck” to “when I make this happen, “when they see my effort” or “determination, will get me there”.
Think about where your locus of control may lie and what mindset changes you want to make to improve your resilience.
