What Does “Locus of Control” Mean?

Locus of control describes the degree to which individuals believe that outcomes result from their own behaviour (control resides within them), or from forces that are external to themselves (control resides externally with powerful others or the situation).

A person with an internal locus of control believes that he or she can influence events and their outcomes, while someone with an external locus of control blames outside forces for everything.

Locus of control is viewed as a unidimensional continuum, ranging from external control at one end to internal control at the other. It can be illustrated like this:

Read more about Locus of Control in my article: Destiny: Action or Accident? 

How Does my Locus of Control Impact on my Success?

A more internal locus of control is generally regarded as desirable rather than an external locus of control because people with an internal locus of control tend to be more successful. This is because people with an internal locus of control are likely to:

• Emphasize striving for achievement
• Work hard to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities
• Pay attention to information that they can use to create positive outcomes in the future
• Engage in activities that will improve their situation
• Be inquisitive and try to figure out why things turned out the way they did
• Have a more participative management style
• Get better paid jobs.

It’s important, however, to caution against falling into the overly simplistic view that “internal is good and external is bad”, because this is not always the case. Important subtleties and complexities need to be considered.  You can read more about it in my article: Destiny: Action or Accident? 

How Can I Develop an Internal Locus of Control?

There are few things you can do to develop an internal locus of control. They are to:

Recognize that you always have a choice. Making no choice is actually a choice in and of itself, and it's your choice to allow other people or events to decide for you.

Set goals for yourself and note how, by working towards these and achieving these, you are controlling what happens in your life. As you do this, you'll find that your self-confidence quickly builds.

Develop decision-making and problem-solving skills so that you can feel more confident, and in control of what happens. With these tools, you'll find that you can understand and navigate through situations that would otherwise damage you.

Pay attention to your ‘head-talk’ – that little voice in your head that constantly talks to you. When you hear yourself saying things like, "I have no choice" or "There's nothing I can do", step back and remind yourself that you do, in fact, have some degree of control or influence. It's your choice whether you exercise it or not. Of course, sometimes the control you have is only over your own attitude to the situation. In this case, although you may not be able to change the circumstances, you can choose not to be a victim. Some sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy might assist you to do this.

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