Locus of Control

Today I want to talk a bit about a new term that I recently learnt. “Locus of Control” and how this concept can affect us achieving our goals.

What is the Locus of Control?

According to Google

 “In personality psychology, locus of control is the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces beyond their control”

Which is saying that the results that you are producing in any area of your life is a because of your behaviour and choices or it can be to be blamed solely to external forces

There are two types of Locus of Control according to psychologists, Internal and External.

When hard/pressing times are met do you think you have what it takes to pull through or do you think that the outside forces are in complete control? 

If you think that you have control then you are governed by Internal Locus of Control and if you think the latter then you have what is called an External Locus of Control. 

(The location of control of the source of my happiness and life) another name for Locus of Control.

Internal Locus of Control is akin to someone looking into a mirror, while External Locus of Control is like someone looking through a window.

Internal Locus of Control

External Locus of Control

A person with a strong degree of Internal Locus of Control tends to think that they have control over their circumstance and as such they can influence the results.

While a person with a strong External Locus of Control thinks that they are not to be blamed for their circumstances and that the only reason that this negative thing has happened to them is because of something that someone or something outside of them did.

How does the Locus of Control Affect how you set and Achieve Goals?

Goals should always come from the decision of Internal Locus of control, as in, you decide that you have control of the outcome. That by hard work and a solid strategy you can make things happen. That you have what it takes to make a positive outcome and even if you fail you can rebuild and restart because you will learn from it and be better equipped to make it work.

If you are someone that has a high external locus of control, you may need to examine how and why you set certain goals. Research has shown that if you set goals that are not necessarily what you really care about, but it’s because it will show you in a certain light then you are less likely to achieve them.

And also if you think about the reasons why things cannot happen, for example, statements like:

“ I don’t have money to do that”

“It’s not possible because my parents are poor”

“The government of the day is not good”

“The economic policies of the present government does not help small businesses”

“The job market is tough”

Then there will be no hope and no reason to even try. According to an article found online “Locus of Control and Your Life” by Kendra Cherry 

“It is important to note that locus of control is a continuum. No one has a 100 percent external or internal locus of control. Instead, most people lie somewhere on the continuum between the two extremes. These are characteristics of people with a dominant internal or external locus of control.”

Internal Locus of ControlAre more likely to take responsibility for their actions
Tend to be less influenced by the opinions of other peopleOften do better at tasks when they are allowed to work at their own pace
Usually, have a strong sense of self-efficacyTend to work hard to achieve the things they wantFeel confident in the face of challengesTend to be physically healthierReport being happier and more independentOften achieve greater success in the workplaceExternal Locus of ControlBlame outside forces for their circumstancesOften credit luck or chance for any successesDon't believe that they can change their situation through their own effortsFrequently feel hopeless or powerless in the face of difficult situationsAre more prone to experiencing learned helplessness

Learned Helplessness

“When people feel that they have no control over their situation, they begin to behave in a helpless manner, this inaction may cause them to miss opportunities for change” 

quoted from this article 

The Locus of Control Test

The locus of control test is a 13 item questionnaire that is used to measure general expectancies for internal versus external control reinforcement. A low score indicates an internal control while a high score indicates an external control.

The Locus of Control Test

Conclusion

I think it is important to note that in certain situations it may do well to have a strong external locus of control eg. Playing a sport that you are not good at, may be helpful to relieve stress by blaming the weather or the lack of proper gear for losing the match.

I can also understand why persons will have a mixture of both the external and internal. Because it would be impossible to be so negative and accomplish anything or one can become overly critical of one's every move, which in turn may lead to mental fatigue.

All in all, from research, I believe that locus of control can be a choice. To do this you must first become aware of how you think and change or adjust how you think. Now that you know a little about it, how are you going to determine your locus of control?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

I am a Generalist Virtual Assistant, I work with Awesome women who need support in their business via research, social media content creation and other such tasks.

I can be contacted via email address: natashavabusiness@gmail.com