Acquire Internal Locus of Control to Create Your Destiny

"Stand up for who you are. Respect your Self and ignite the divine sparks in you. Access your powers. Choose your rights and work together with others to bring blessings into the lives." - Amit Ray

When you want to achieve success in all spheres of life, you must have internal locus of control. Internal locus of control is all about taking responsibility about success, and external locus of control is all about blaming the external events, forces and factors for failures. Internal locus is about taking action and responsibility for the consequences. It is about making things happen and walking the talk. When you look at leaders, they possess internal locus of control because they take responsibility for their actions. It is rightly said that it is the bad tradesmen who blame their tools, and it is the good tradesmen who avail what they have, and work within the constraints to achieve the desired outcomes.

The concept of 'local of control' was coined by Julian B. Rotter in 1954. Rotter describes the internal locus of control as: 'the degree to which persons expect that a reinforcement or an outcome of their behavior is contingent on their own behavior or personal characteristics.'

Internals versus Externals
The individuals with internal locus of control emphasize on ideas for issues. They strongly believe in exploring ideas for annoying issues. They believe in pluck, not luck. They take responsibility for their actions. They don't blame the external environment for their failures. They reconcile to the external environment and realign their strategies to accomplish their objectives. They believe in creating their destiny, instead of leaving their fate to destiny. They are extraordinary achievers and history makers.

Internals are independent, self-motivated, troubleshooters, problem solvers, and creative, and have the ability to handle complex information. They are optimistic, confident, achievement-oriented, health-conscious, and responsible for their actions. Internals are inquisitive and ambitious individuals with determination to create their own destinies. They work hard and persevere to make things fall into place. Above all, they are leaders who take responsibility in case of failures and spread fame in case of successes.

Internals believe that there is always bend at the end of the road. They are optimistic, and see light at the end of the tunnel. They see the silver lining over the dark cloud. They enjoy the rising sun, not the setting sun. Although there are lots of advantages associated with internals, there are also problems involved with internals. Australian psychologist James T. Neill outlines the dangers involved for the individuals with internal locus of control: Internals can be psychologically unhealthy and unstable. An internal orientation usually needs to be matched by competence, self-efficacy and opportunity so that the person is able to successfully experience the sense of personal control and responsibility. Overly internal people who lack competence, efficacy and opportunity can become neurotic, anxious and depressed. In other words, internals need to have a realistic sense of their circle of influence in order to experience "success."

Internals appear to be arrogant. They often control a lot. They will have autocratic tendencies with autocratic leadership mindset. The people around them will not be comfortable working with them. Here is how you can convert from an external to an internal: believe in yourself, develop persistence, avoid complaining, criticizing and condemning others, stop talking and start taking responsibilities, and change your perceptions to resolve issues.

Successful People Versus Unsuccessful People
Successful people and unsuccessful people undergo several challenges. Their road is beset with tremendous doubt, fear, volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity and struggles. The successful people respond to their environment proactively and align their strategies from time to time to accomplish their goals. They take continuous feedback and reconcile to the realities and realign their strategies accordingly. They pursue their journey with perseverance. In contrast, the unsuccessful people blame external environment and react negatively, and finally give up their journey towards success. To conclude, acquire internal locus of control to make things happen to create your destiny and to grow as a leader.

"Give me courage to change the things I can
Serenity to accept the things I can't change
And the wisdom to know the difference
Do we ever really control what others think, feel, say or do?
What are the only things we do control?
Where would our time, energy and effort be best spent?" - The Serenity Poem (Prayer)