We all have things in our work (and in life) that challenge us. Somethings are more in our control than others. And some things we have more control of than we think.
When we are going through times of change it can feel like we don’t have much control. But let’s challenge that.
In Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he describes the Circle of Control, Influence and Concern, three circles inside each other.
The Circle includes all the challenges you have in your work and in your life.
The task is to identify which are inside and outside of your Circle of Control.
Some things – like the weather, pandemics, the economy – are out of your control, there’s nothing you can do about them. Other things, such as how you respond to people and circumstances, whether you eat healthy or unhealthy food, whether you exercise or not, are totally within your control.
Sometimes the things in your Circle of Concern that you can’t control directly, are still things you can influence.
Being proactive means acting on what you can control, and working on expanding your Circle of Influence, and doing what you can about them, instead of waiting for things to happen.
By looking closer at the things in your circle, you can explore how to gain control when you feel like you have none, and discover that you always have more power than you think.
When we feel like ‘it’s not my fault’, ‘this is happening to me’ ‘it’s them not me’ and ‘its out of my control’ - catch that thought and challenge yourself about what you can influence, and what you can control.
It might surprise you.
eleanor
What is in your Control?