Locus of control setting for the year

It's January, meaning that organizations all around are finalizing their 2025 plans (if they haven't gotten around to finalizing them Q4 of 2024, which seems super common). It also means the start of the next presidency. And oh boy does all that (and news from the past month) put the idea of locus of control front and center in my mind.

For those unfamiliar, locus of control, is a term in psychology that describes the extent a person believes they are able to control their life and destiny. People with a strong internal locus of control think they can control a lot, people with a strong external locus think that fate or external uncontrollable factors are the dominating forces controlling their life. The theory and applications have picked up a ton of nuance and refinements over the years, but the basic gist of the theory is that people who have a stronger internal locus of control tend to be more likely to take action with regards to something because they believe that their actions will have an effect on the outcome.

Anyways, the idea is on top of mind for me because for a lot of the stuff that concerns me and freaks me out currently are way outside of the scope of any locus of control that I have, be it political or work-related stuff. My typing on the internet is neither going to affect US domestic policy, nor particularly sway an executive who is dead set on selling some oddly-shaped widget.

And you know what, in order to get through 2025 and beyond, I think that recognizing the limitations of our control is important. I fully believe that I can take action in the world and good stuff happens because of my actions. But my reach is limited by the amount of energy I have to dedicate to those actions. And so, I'm going to pick what I'm going to get upset and fight over. There's plenty enough to do keeping my family and friends (which includes readers of this newsletter) safe and happy in these trying times. That pitched battle over a bike shed color at work will be let go.

I hope that you'll also do the same for whatever it is that is important to you.