Changing What You Can and Locus of Control.
We are currently going through some uncertain times and for some of you this may feel scary and on occasion even overwhelming. It’s for this reason that in this month’ article I would like to write about “changing what you can”, which means it’s about trying to develop as much of an internal locus of control as you can.
What Is a Locus of Control?
An internal locus of control would be feeling like you can control your conditions. Like you can make decisions that impact your life and that you’re relatively in control of things.
An external locus of control, makes you feel as though you are a victim of circumstance and a victim of what other people decide for you, and you have very little control over your destiny.
Now, changing from an external locus of control to an internal locus of control is not as simple as that, far from it. It can take a lot of unpicking and a lot of reestablishment of habits. I think there is a lot that we can do to take back a bit more control, to feel like we’re more in control.
How Does a Lack of Control Affect Us?
I think that lack of control, lack of agency, is hurting people at the moment. So what can we do about it?
Changing What You Can Control
- Set daily goals
Daily goals are the things that you can change: your sleep routine, what you eat, how much you move, the people you see, to a point.
Things that you can control that could have a very significant impact on your health and wellbeing.
- Look to the local community
What could you do to try and change things if you’re frustrated politically or environmentally? What can you do in your local community to try and change things for the better?
I found that giving up meat, which we did at the beginning of January last, has really helped for me to feel a little bit of control of the terrible plight of industrially reared animals that we eat. So that’s really helped.
And that’s linked with this last point, which is about values.
- Are you really clear on your values?
Are you then taking action in support of those values? So, me giving up meat is one great example of that. Being more mindful and considerate in the way that I live my life. For example, the packaging on products and who I put my money with and what brands I support.
There is a huge amount we can control in life. The things we can’t control might be impactful. They might be big, but we can help to balance that feeling of frustration and lack of control by turning our attention to changing what we can control.
So I hope that’s been helpful. In between now and next month, stay healthy and all the best.