Within psychology, the notion of Locus of Control refers to our perception about the causes of the events in our lives. If we have a high internal Locus of Control we believe that our behaviour is mainly influenced by our own personal decisions and efforts. If we have a high external Locus of Control we believe that external circumstances - such as luck, destiny, fate, the stars, an external god, or our boss, or other people - have the greater influence. Studies have shown that the understanding we have of locus of control has a significant impact on our motivation, expectations, self-esteem, and even on the actual outcome of our actions. A high external locus has been associated with depression and with lower motivation. It also shapes the way in which we deal with setbacks. A key element in our inner life is how we explain to ourselves why a negative event occurs. People with high external locus of control tend to attribute setbacks to stable internal and global factors, which will not change. In other words, setbacks tend to be seen as being caused by elements inside me that will not change - "I never succeed, I am not good enough" combined with factors outside which are stacked against me - "That college, job, person is way out of my league". If bad, this can lead to a sense that nothing I can do will make a difference and I will feel powerless to change my own circumstances.
On the contrary, it has been noted that high internals expect to succeed more, are more motivated and are more likely to learn from their setbacks. They believe that their approach and attitude contributes significantly to what they achieve in life. If something goes wrong they tend to see it as due to non-stable factors that can be overcome in the future - "Ok, I got refused this time, but I will work harder and reapply". In other words, the story the person tells themselves allows them not to over-identify with the setback and see it as the whole story. It has been found that a high internal locus of control leads to behaviours that cope better, that are more flexible, purposive and open, are less defensive, and are cognitively more complex, differentiated, and sensitive. They tend to realize that they have choices to change their situation, even if that only means working on internal factors, like attitude and motivation.
Many people fail to distinguish between their true nature and their personality traits, particularly their less desirable traits. The fact is you are not the worst characteristics of your personality. It is the nature of the untrained mind to want what it perceives as advantageous and to fear or hate what seems painful. Discovering how your heart and mind can work together to use these feelings allows you to move beyond them. You may feel overwhelmed by the circumstances of your present life or bound by past traumatic events. Again, this is a failure in perception. They are just mind-states which can be known. They can be seen as impermanent and not belonging to you and, therefore, they do not ultimately define your true nature.
Philip Moffitt
