Chasing Success: L. L. S. F (1)

Thanks for dropping by. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I will be sharing five lessons I have learnt so far - from people who have impacted me positively. (L.L.S.F = Lessons Learnt So Far)

The first lesson relates to a concept called 'Locus of Control' - which I will refer to as LOC in this post

What is Locus of Control?

In Psychology, Locus of Control is considered to be an important aspect of personality and refers to how an individual perceives things that happen in his/her life. It can be summarised as how a person answers this basic question:

Do you believe that your destiny is controlled by yourself or by external forces (such as fate, god, or powerful others)?

Individuals who answer 'yourself' are classed as having INTERNAL LOC ....Those who answer 'external forces' are classed as having EXTERNAL LOC: 

External Locus of Control Individual believes that his/her behaviour is guided by fate, luck, or other external circumstances

Internal Locus of Control Individual believes that his/her behaviour is guided by his/her personal decisions and efforts.

With regards to the short quiz in my last post - If you chose mostly a answers - you are likely to have an EXTERNAL LOC. If you chose mostly b answers, you are likely to be INTERNAL.

However,  like everything in life - people might change their answer from time to time.............but, in my experience, high achievers usually tend to possess an INTERNAL LOC most of the time - They feel that they are in charge of their destiny and their efforts can have a positive impact on their ability to achieve their goals, their dreams and their vision.

This feeling of 'being in control of one's destiny' might take a bashing from time to time and numerous influences can shape one's LOC:
- Gender: I do feel men generally tend to feel more in control of their own destiny
- Age: The older people I meet generally do feel success in life is down to the effort you put in
- Upbringing: Children who have grown in competitive household - where excellence was rewarded - might grow to appreciate the relationship between effort and reward
- Environment: Without generalising, a lot of Nigerians I know feel our Nigerian society is very much one of 'who you know' - so effort is not often rewarded
- Religion / Beliefs: From experience, a lot of deeply religious people I encounter forget that prayer without deeds is futile. If one keeps on attributing every event to luck or fate, the person is likely to feel powerless in his/her own life

I must also warn that we should not take a simplistic view - that being having an EXTERNAL LOC is bad .................OR...........having INTERNAL is good. This is because INTERNALS can be great worriers as they try to control everything..........Also, EXTERNALS can be very easy going as they attribute events and experiences to 'luck' or 'fate'

However, one lesson I have learnt from people I admire is that - if we want to achieve success in life - we must recognise instances where we hand over control over our lives to others........ That is why I think we should all be aware of our LOC as it can highlight attitudes we need to change/ modify.

Q: How has this knowledge helped me?............A: To make better choices :
- If I spot an opportunity, it is up to me to pursue it. I am responsible for my own progress
- If something bad happens around me, I have the option of learning from it or letting the event defeat me. I have a choice
- If something good happens to me, I have the option of putting it down to luck or identifying what I did to facilitate that event. If I was instrumental to this event/ experience....I can repeat it
- If something I have been doing is not working. ............Why am I carrying on? I have a choice to stop it
- If something I am doing is successful........... Why cant I extend that success to other parts of my life. I have the choice.
- If I am confused and unsure of a path to follow (personally or professionally), I do as much research as possible i.e. speak to more experienced people; Pray and make a decison. I have the faith and confidence to explore any option that might see me excel in life.

If you are interested in taking the full LOC test - so you can understand where you stand -  please go here: 

In the meantime, do let me know if I make sense.  Your comments are always welcome.

I'll be back on the 8th of November. God bless.
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