51 ways to operate from your area of control and influence

 In this article you will learn the following

-What happens when you operate from your area of concern or focus on what is beyond your span of influence

-12 signs which will tell you that you are operating from your area of concern

-16 things which are not within your control

-48 Things you can control [only if you choose to pro-actively work on yourself to manage these]

-50 actions to operate from your most powerful - your area of control AND How to increase your locus of control in your life

You can almost always control your inputs [energies, efforts, dedication, continuity, improvisation, persistence, giving your 100% etc.] - but the most you can do about ultimate outcomes - is only influencing them and cannot guarantee.

Focusing on what is not within your span of control would only create avoidable and unnecessary - helplessness, powerlessness, hopelessness and all negative un-resourceful emotional states.

And also - it would reduce your natural productivity, effectiveness and may give you the results that you fears most or are trying to avoid.

The more time and energy you spend on either worrying-over or taking actions on the things you don't have much influence-on or have control-over - the less you would be directing on those crucial big transformative things and hence not growing significantly.

Focusing on what we can control needs discipline - especially when you are unsure and venturing into the realm of unknown.

You reduce your stress-levels when you focus on and take actions on what is within your own control.

When you focus on what you can control - your thoughts empower you and then trigger positive emotions.

In times of extreme emotional turbulence - when nothing seems to be within your control - the best thing to do is - do anything - till you can get a grip on the situation and can see way forward.

Most people [when the going is good for them] - stay positive and are productive - but the moment it becomes tough and difficult - imagine the worst and themselves as powerless, helpless and resource-less.

Trying to control what is outside of your control will control and will cause loss of opportunity, avoidable stress and many other damages.

When you are getting hit from multiple directions - most of us tend to slip down to victim and self-pitying mindset.

Your mind starts ruminating on all the things that aren't working in your favor and start worrying about all the bad things that could happen next - which leads to yourself giving-up on what you could have done.

12 signs which will tell you that you are operating from your area of concern

• 1.You believe that you are at the mercy of outside forces
• 2.Your judgement is clouded and you are confused
• 3.You are wasting your energy by focusing on what is much beyond your current capabilities - and can't be done unless you acquire newer skills, experience and expertize
• 4.You are ignoring what is within your control - even in those areas those are beyond your span of influence and thereby not utilizing and wasting opportunities
• 5.You are reacting to the situations and people
• 6.You are in denial mode and are unable to accept the truth facing you
• 7.You are not taking actions on what is within your area of control
• 8.You often feel that you have little control over your own life
• 9.You believe that individuals have little influence over the events of the world
• 10.You also feel that it is not worth making plans and setting goals - because too many things can happen - which can make all plans go haywire
• 11.You Feel overwhelmed by life - You often feel stuck, adrift or thwarted
• 12.You are Struggling to make choices and decisions in your life

16 things which are not within your control

• 1.The politicians who get elected [you might have voted for decent person but criminals, corrupts and psychopaths may get elected]
• 2.How the stock market will behave
• 3.Wars
• 4.State and direction of economy
• 5.The weather
• 6.What and how other people behave, react, think, feel and do
• 7.Other people's decisions
• 8.Most of your emotions, feelings, thoughts and sensations etc.
• 9.Your achieving you're the goals you have set for yourself
• 10.How good you feel when doing what you do
• 11.How others perceive your motivations and judge you
• 12.What happens in the future
• 13.What happened in the past
• 14.Inevitable painful losses in life
• 15.Whether or not life gives you what you want
• 16.The inevitability of ageing, illness and injury

48 Things you can control [only if you choose to pro-actively work on yourself to manage these]

• 1.Your breathing - the way you breath in difficult situation and in tough phases
• 2.Your inner self-talk
• 3.Your gratitude
• 4.Your body language
• 5.Your mental and physical fitness
• 6.Your diet - what you choose to eat and what you avoid
• 7.Type of people you keep in your company
• 8.The healthy boundaries you set around you
• 9.Your ability to say to people and situations
• 10.Your bouncing back from failures and setbacks
• 11.Your taking actions to solve your problems
• 12.Your taking ownership and full accountability for all the decisions and actions and their respective consequences
• 13.Your mental, emotional and physical habits
• 14.Your sleep - have you created a healthy sleeping habits
• 15.Your to-do list - you priorities
• 16.Your learning plan - your efforts in self-development and self-improvement
• 17.Your self-care - How you take care of and look after yourself
• 18.How you manage and respond to your negative emotions & feelings
• 19.Do you give in to impulses
• 20.Do you cut corners or go for sustainable but long route
• 21.Do you focus on short or long term
• 22.How you respond to your thoughts
• 23.How you respond to your sensations
• 24.How you respond to your memories
• 25.How much action you take towards your goals
• 26.How much you focus on - what you do
• 27.What you say and do to influence other people
• 28.Whether or not you take things personally
• 29.Whether or not you are living your life - as per your passions
• 30.Whether you allow others to control you
• 31.How assertive you are
• 32.How confidant you are
• 33.Your being fully comfortable with yourself
• 34.How much you use your values for motivation
• 35.Whether or not you act like the sort of person you want to be
• 36.What you say and do to influence the future
• 37.How you respond to thoughts about the past
• 38.Being self-compassionate when losses occur
• 39.The values you live by - irrespective of what type of life you have
• 40.Your personality
• 41.Your Communication
• 42.Your creativity
• 43.Your abilities and capabilities
• 44.How you deal with people and different situations
• 45.How you spend your time
• 46.With whom you spend your time
• 47.How you utilize and manage your energies
• 48.How you let go of your guilt, shame, regret and failures

50 actions to operate from your most powerful - your area of control AND How to increase your locus of control in your life

[Given randomly - most of the single sentence tips have detailed 3000+ do-it-yourself article, blogs and answers in my two websites and my Quora answers]

• 1.Practice and learn to identify - the choices, options and possibilities are within your span of control and which externals factors not under your power of control - This will help you to focus and direct your energies and efforts onto the options you can actually control and take appropriate actions
• 2.Take steps in the following areas to increase satisfaction in key areas of your life - How do you feel about your ability to respond to these changes - manageable or unmanageable or overwhelmingly scary
• I.Self-care - How you take care of and look after yourself
• II.Your Home and Family—where you live and how you live - how much change are you experiencing in this area of your life - minor to major or no change
• III.Your most important relationships—your partner, family, friends, and community - what changes you are experiencing in this area of your life - minor to major or no change
• IV.Your mental, emotional, physical level of health - how much change are you experiencing in this area of your life - minor to major or no change
• V.Your finances—the money you earn and the expenses you have - how much change are you experiencing in this area of your life - minor to major or no change
• VI.Your profession, job, career, business - how much change are you experiencing in this area of your life - minor to major or no change
• 3.Increase your locus of control - Do the following exercise to manage the threats that you might be feeling in all the major changes that are happening in your life right now [it does not matter if these are the ones that have been chosen by you or are those which are forced on you]
• I.Write down a change you have experienced or are about to experience
• II.What can you control about the change
• III.What can you only somewhat control about the change
• IV.What can't you control about the change
• V.Pick one area where you want increased stability and control. Which one is it
• VI.What can you do to increase the stability of this area - What obstacles do you need to overcome - How can you overcome this
• VII.When can you make this happen? Be specific. Write down the dates that you plan to start and finish
• VIII.Think of an ongoing unresolved situation in your life -write a brief outline of the facts and why it feels unresolved for you -what can you control in this situation - make a list - what can't you control in this situation - make a list - ask yourself how can you focus more on the things you can control
• IX.Determine what you can control - sometimes - all you can control is your effort and your attitude
• X.Identify your fears - ask yourself what you are afraid will happen - Are expecting a catastrophic outcome - Do you doubt your ability to cope with the resulting situation or failure or the disappointment - then prepare for the worst case scenario
• XI.Focus on finding solutions through improving your problem-solving and creativity skills
• XII.Start taking responsibility for your decisions, actions and their consequences
• XIII.Develop your own opinion and practice not to get overly influenced by the opinions of other people
• XIV.Stop blaming outside forces for your circumstances
• XV.Train yourself to become aware of your emotional shift from a positive-resourceful state to un-resourceful negative one - ask yourself
• XVI.Ask yourself what is causing the anxiety, worry and stress - what is your current priorities and what matters to you most in long term and finally what is within my control and what can i do about it.
• XVII.Limit the number of errors that can take place by using the principals of 6 sigma
• XVIII.Establish standards - measure performance - compare performance against standards - take corrective action
• XIX.Integrate strategy and control with planning - create flexibility - focus on accuracy and timeliness
• 4.Take credit for your successes
• 5.Believe that you can change your situation through your consistent efforts
• 6.Practice to Let go of learned helplessness and victim mentality
• 7.Learn to identify and manage the triggers and stimuli - which triggers negativities in you
• 8.Associate with people selectively - to avoid getting affected by the negativities and evil of people you mix with
• 9.Set healthy boundaries with difficult people
• 10.Disentangle yourself from negative interactions
• 11.Learn to handle the pressures and stress by exposing yourself to risks, fears by taking challenges pro-actively
• 12.Surround yourself those people among your friends, family and communities who encourage you to reach your full potential and give you a reality check when you are stuck in negative thinking
• 13.Position yourself as a learner nurture your curiosity and allow yourself to explore new ideas, skills, and people by expanding your capacity to learn by adopting a more open, collaborative approach
• 14.Learn to manage your emotions and beliefs - increase your awareness of how your emotions and beliefs drive your thinking and influence your behavior plus affect your judgment
• 15.Pause and question your situation -Why you are feeling like this - are you self-pressurizing yourself unnecessarily
• 16.Does your beliefs, perceptions and expectations need some recalibrations
• 17.Start by slowing-down your thinking - meditate at a quiet place taking slow and deep breaths
• 18.Start trusting your intuition to give a tremendous boost to your creativity and help us make important decisions effectively
• 19.Only after thinking through - thoroughly - take actions on very important matters
• 20.Create a plan to manage your stress
• 21.Develop powerful visualizations and positive affirmations
• 22. Go for your larger than life goals step by step -  plan it - believe in it - visualize it see yourself doing it - take actions on it

• 23.Break all the big tasks into small elements, components and milestones
• 24.Learn to let go of overthinking

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