Taking Responsibility For Our Success

Written By Colēgia

Similar to the idea of being accountable for your own happiness, the same concept applies to success as well. This approach is helpful since it teaches us to look at what is within our locus of control rather than attributing a lack of success to other factors. This still requires mindfulness of our situation but ideally, it helps us take accountability which is its own source of empowerment. Let's dive into why this is so important.

Our Locus of Control

There are multiple ways to define a locus of control. The external locus of control is things that are beyond us that we have no influence over. Things such as the weather, traffic, and environments can fall under this definition. The internal locus of control is things we have direct influence over. This can include picking out what we want to eat or what shoes we want to wear. Now which of these two is worth putting more conscious effort into? The answer is the internal locus. The reason behind this is that it isn't worth our mental resources to worry about things that are beyond our control. With that in mind, we do have agency over how we adapt to things outside of our control by using our time and resources in a manner that works alongside our environment.

“There are multiple ways to define a locus of control.”

Focusing on What we Can do

Just because we can't control something doesn't mean we can ignore it. If transportation is an issue for getting somewhere, it's up to us to find a solution. If we aren't sure how to pay for college, we need to take action to get ourselves to a place where we feel self-sufficient. This applies to our success as well. While in a lot of cases, the environment we're put in has a direct impact on who we become, we still have a choice with the direction we want to take our lives. A great example of turning things around is putting in the effort to make it through college for example in spite of circumstances making the road challenging. The same can be said for our careers as well. Focusing on doing something in a manner that makes you proud of the quality of what you put into it is a great way of seeing how your choices impact your success.

“While in a lot of cases, the environment we're put in has a direct impact on who we become, we still have a choice with the direction we want to take our lives.”

Responsibility Can Empower us

Let's consider a perspective that focuses on what's outside of our locus of control. This perspective firmly believes that any semblance of choice is beyond us and our success is out of our control. Chances are that this perspective isn't motivating for many people. It’s worth looking at it differently though. What if responsibility can be empowering? Being accountable for our actions teaches us that they impact both ourselves and the world around us. This perspective gives a lot more weight to how we choose to live our lives and in turn, can lead us toward more positive actions.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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Metacognition And Rethinking Our Thoughts
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