The term ‘locus of control’ refers to whether you feel your life is controlled by you or by forces outside yourself.
If you have anexternal locus of control, you believe your destiny is mostly controlled by external forces such as luck, God, the gods, or fate. Whether you lose the weight or make a brilliant investment depends on practically everything under the sun – except you. This isn't a good success strategy.
If you have aninternal locus of control, you believe your actions, thoughts, and attitude usually controls your destiny.
There are several studies that link stress and locus of control. When an individual perceives that they are in control of a situation "the probability is that he will be less likely to perceive the situation as threatening or stress-inducing". Those with a more internal locus of control tend to feel happier, freer, and less stressed. They experience less of the damaging chronic stress that can come from feeling powerless, consequently they also enjoy better health and are more satisfied with life in general.
With an internal locus of control, you open yourself up to a world of possibilities.
How To Develop An Internal Locus of Control
1. Recognize that you always have choice to change your circumstances. Even if the only change you can make is in your attitude, it’s still a choice.
2. When you feel stuck, create a list of all possible actions. Don’t evaluate, just brainstorm and write things down.
3. Ask friend to brainstorm with you in order to get more ideas that you may not have initially considered. Don’t discharge these ideas right away, just write them down.
4. Evaluate the list, estimate each one opportunity and decide the best way of action for you. Leave others as alternative options. You could be surprised about the amount of choices you have in a given situation.
Create a habit to seeing new possibilities in each situation not only when you feel stuck and frustrated. Realizing and acknowledging that you always have choice (even if the choices aren’t ideal) can help you to change your situation, or accept it more easily.
