Taking Control of What We Can Control

Today, the world is feeling a little out of control, as we are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions, natural disasters, and an economic decline. Focusing on controlling what we can control, better equips us to deal with this uncertainty. Cultivating an internal locus of control has benefits for our mental health. 

Locus of control is our belief about what causes our experiences and our success or failure. If we have an internal locus of control, we are more likely to see our accomplishments as a product of our efforts and abilities. If we have an external locus of control, we tend to think of our successes as a result of luck or fate. Those with a strong internal locus of control will compliment or blame themselves for the results that they get, where those with a strong external locus of control will credit or blame others. 

Research has demonstrated that an internal locus of control helps individuals cultivate a positive attitude and increases their ability to counteract negative feelings. Those with an external locus of control tend to have more trouble tolerating uncertainty and more often view the future negatively. 

Charles Swindoll said, "The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes. Many things are out of our control, but when we focus on what we can control, we increase our ability to face our challenges with hope instead of fear. 

We can consciously decide to take on a more internal locus of control. Recognizing that we always have choices helps us to take responsibility for our thoughts, actions, and feelings. We can choose to be kinder with our self-talk. We can choose to let go of trying to control the thoughts and feelings of others. We can grow to become more accepting, positive, and confident. 

Viktor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, stated, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Even in these troubled times, we get to choose how we will show up in the world. We can control our reactions to the circumstances around us. We can determine the quality of our inner experience by adjusting our attitude, which will improve our relationships and our lives.