Philosophy and Spirituality

[cosmoworld7]

Locus of Control:

Generally, people who are successful in life and are high achievers usually have an Internal Locus of Control (as opposed to an External Locus of Control).

What is Locus of Control?

Locus of Control refers to an individual's perception about the underlying main causes of events in his/her life. Or, more simply: Do you believe that your destiny is controlled by yourself or by external forces (such as fate, god, or powerful others)?

Internal/External examples:

External Locus of Control
Individual believes that his/her behaviour is guided by fate, luck, or other external circumstances.

Internal Locus of Control
Individual believes that his/her behaviour is guided by his/her personal decisions and efforts.

Is an internal locus of control desirable?
In general, it seems to be psychologically healthy to perceive that one has control over those things which one is capable of influencing.

In simplistic terms, a more internal locus of control is generally seen as desirable. Having an Internal locus of control can also be referred to as "self-agency", "personal control", "self-determination", etc. Research has found the following trends:

Males tend to be more internal than females
As people get older they tend to become more internal
People higher up in organisational structures tend to be more internal (Mamlin, Harris, & Case, 2001)

People with an internal locus of control believe that they control their own destiny. They also believe that their own experiences are controlled by their own skill or efforts. An example would be "The more I study, the better grades I get" (Gershaw, 1989). On the other hand, people who tend to have an external locus of control tend to attribute their experiences to fate, chance, or luck. (1) Examples: External locus of control: If a student attributes either their successes or failures to having a bad day, unfair grading procedures on their teacher's part, or even God's will, they can be said to have a more external locus of control. These students might say, "It doesn't matter how hard I study. The teacher just doesn't like me, so I know I won't get a good grade." These students generally don't learn from previous experience. Since they attribute both their successes and failures to luck or chance, they tend to lack persistence and not have very high levels of expectation.

Tips for Developing an Internal Locus of Control

Recognize the basic fact that you always have a choice. Making no choice is actually a choice in and of itself, and it's your choice to allow other people or events decide for you.

Set goals for yourself and note how, by working towards these and achieving these, you are controlling what happens in your life. As you do this, you'll find that your self-confidence quickly builds. (This is something we deal with in great detail within our Design Your Life goal-setting and life-design program.)

Develop your decision making and problem solving skills so that you can feel more confident, and in control of what happens. With these tools, you'll find that you can understand and navigate through situations that would otherwise damage you.

Pay attention to your self-talk. When you hear yourself saying things like, “I have no choice” or “There’s nothing I can do”, step back and remind yourself that you do, in fact, have some degree of control. It’s your choice whether you exercise it or not.


To do a locus of control 'test' go here:

http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LocusofControl-intro.html