In today’s world, especially in high-pressure environments like corporate settings, it’s common for individuals to feel a sense of helplessness regarding their circumstances. Many people find themselves saying things like, “I have anxiety,” or “That situation is making me anxious.” Such phrases inadvertently reinforce the idea that these feelings are uncontrollable forces being handed down to them. This perception often stems from an external locus of control, a psychological concept that can significantly impact your mental health.
Understanding External Locus of Control
An external locus of control refers to the belief that life events and personal outcomes are primarily influenced by external factors like other people, luck, or circumstances beyond one’s control. Those with this mindset tend to feel like victims of their environment, struggling to assert agency over their lives. This perspective can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and helplessness, leaving individuals feeling stuck and unable to effect meaningful change.
Allow me to demonstrate what I mean through some character examples:
Batman had an ‘internal locus of control’. After witnessing the murder of his parents at a young age, Bruce Wayne could have easily succumbed to despair and vengeance. Instead, he decided to channel his trauma into becoming Batman. He empowers himself through making a decision to undergo intense training and a dedicated mission to fight crime. He demonstrates a strong internal locus of control and a choice to transform his pain into purpose.
The second subject is the Joker, who also lost a loved one and had a less than loving environment to grow up in. His hardship formed his distorted view of the world, descending into isolation and anarchistic behaviour to deliver revenge on the world that was so very cruel to him. The Joker displays an ‘external locus of control’. Events happened to him, leaving him as the victim without choice.
I will clarify that there are victims in the world, that the world isn’t entirely fair and there are many injustices out there. Children can be victims and we’re not going to go through the elements of life that we have no choice over. In fact, most of life is ambiguous but when we’re mature enough, we get to choose whether something can be serving or depreciating. More on what we can choose later.
The Impact on Mental Health
The consequences of an external locus of control can be significant. Research indicates that individuals who adopt this mindset often experience higher levels of anxiety and depression. They may find themselves feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges and perceiving themselves as powerless to change their circumstances. The belief that they have little influence over their fate can create a sense of learned helplessness, causing individuals to withdraw from opportunities that could foster personal growth.
As a leading clinical psychologist and expert in psychotherapy, Michael Yapko emphasises the importance of recognising our resources and capabilities. By shifting towards an internal locus of control, where individuals understand that their thoughts, actions, and decisions significantly influence their outcomes, they can make their way towards freedom..
Making the Shift to Internal Locus of Control
1. Acknowledge Your Control: The first step towards reclaiming control is acknowledging that you have the power to influence your own experiences. Reflections and affirmations can be powerful tools in this area. Instead of thinking “I can’t handle this,” replace that thought with “I can choose how to approach this.” Or how about, “what can I learn from this?”
2. Challenge Ways of Thinking: Recognising and challenging patterns of thinking that may contribute to feelings of helplessness is very important. For example, instead of the common thought “I always fail,” recognize that failure is a part of the learning process. This reframing can help you see setbacks as opportunities for personal growth rather than definitive proof of inadequacy. Our narratives and self talk are more impactful that you realise. It is sometimes said that how you speak to yourself is a reflection of how your parents spoke to you. We don’t get to choose what and how they spoke to us but we can choose what narrative to give airtime to and what to let go.
3. Focus on What You Can Control: Shift your attention from external circumstances to the factors you can influence. For example, if you feel overwhelmed by work demands, reflect on how you can manage your time more effectively or set boundaries to create a healthier work-life balance. There’s a psychological tool called The Wheel of Life where you input your priorities based on certain frames like: Mental and educational; career and finance; spiritual and ethical, for example. When you complete an exercise like this you are choosing what areas of your life you’re focusing on. A good question to ask is “Does what I’m doing violate my choices to live a balanced life?”
4. Develop Cognitive Skills: Understanding the difference between actual threats and improbable fears can be transformative in managing anxiety. This cognitive distinction allows you to react in a measured way to genuine dangers while dismissing irrational fears based on an external locus of control. By developing these skills, you empower yourself to respond aptly to life’s challenges. Our latest evolutionary development in our brain in the neocortex and among many other experiences, is responsible for our ability to make decisions. Our ability to discern and decide whether one of our 6,000 – 60,000 thoughts we have during a day is worth listening to or not.
5. Seek Support: Sometimes, external circumstances can feel overwhelming on your own. Engaging with a therapist can help you recognise your strengths and capabilities and guide you in integrating an internal locus of control into your day to day.
Your Path to Control
Reclaiming a sense of control and useful meaning will take some time, but not as long as you may think. If you are curious enough to explore a different way of looking at things that may have a positive effect on your outcomes then reach out for more information.
Sometimes we can be defensive over our circumstance. If the circumstance isn’t serving us, do we really want it to be protected? That’s a question I cannot answer for you – you have the power to choose.