They say, “Without you all, the business wouldn’t be here today.

Management at the company focuses on instilling confidence within their employees and often remind them of their importance to the company. In your work life, you could be employed by a company with a “can-do” attitude. Knowing this, you can seek out individuals that embody the belief system you want. The saying of “You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with” holds true from what I’ve experienced. If you surround yourself with people who have an internal locus of control, you’ll likely develop one yourself. Thinking otherwise would hurt your chances of fitting in and relating with the group. If your close circle of friends is comprised of individuals that exhibit an external locus of control, it is likely that you will too.

The environment you are exposed to also has an effect on how you look at the world. We’ll go through some tips on how you can do this later in the post. Through awareness, action, and patience, you can change your beliefs. Yes, this creates a major obstacle in acquiring an internal locus of control, but it is not a final sentencing. Your beliefs and how you react to your circumstances have become so ingrained in your head that it is tough the change the way you think. The tough thing about attributing it to your upbringing is that your belief system was developed over your entire life. However, if your upbringing leads to you developing an external locus control, you can find yourself fighting an uphill battle to change. If this leads to you having an internal locus of control, that’s great. Little events like this over the course of your childhood are picked up consciously and probably even more so unconsciously.

When you came home and told them you got an A on a tough exam, did they say “Oh, you must have gotten lucky!” or did they say “Great job! That’s what happens when you study hard!”.

Did they blame things that happened to the family on external factors or did they take responsibility for their own actions?.

Did they reassure you that you could be anything you wanted to be?.

If you grew up with parents who had an internal locus of control, you could have picked it up from them by witnessing behaviors and how they reacted to situations. There was nothing you could have done to prevent that situation. Beating yourself up because of that is irrational. They might dwell on a situation and what they could have done differently, when in reality, external factors they didn’t have control over actually lead to the event.Ī flat tire caused by a nail in the road that leads to you missing an important meeting is out of anyone’s control. Because these individuals have such a strong belief that their actions lead to the results they are witnessing, they have the tendency to be too hard on themselves. It’s important to note that having a strong internal locus of control isn’t all sunshine.

Are comfortable with discomfort and challenges.

Are not influenced by the opinions of others.

Achieve greater success in their careers.

Reflect on what they could have done differently.

Reflect on what they did in order for the event they are experiencing to happen.

Are motivated to try new things and learn.

Believe they can control the outcomes of their life.

Those who have an internal locus of control exhibit certain traits.

Internal locus of control