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Hello my friends,
Circle of Influence
"Grant me the courage to change the things that I can control, the serenity to accept the things that I cannot control, and the wisdom to know the difference"
The key to changing your world for the better, and relieving yourself from a great deal of worry and stress, is in recognizing those things that you can effect. We cannot control everything in our lives. Some things, like our own behavior and reactions to the things that happen to us, are completely under our control. Other things, like the outcome of a competition, are not completely under our control, but we do have a lot of influence over them. Finally, there are things that are completely outside of your influence. The actions of a foreign government, the behavior of a movie star, the price of gasoline are all things that most of us have no influence over.
So why do we worry so much about things that we cannot change? Unfortunately, these things often have an impact on our lives even though we cannot control; them. This can be very frustrating. A strategy that many highly successful people use is to identify your Circle of Influence. Your Circle of Influence surrounds two different groups of things.
First, imagine writing every single thing that concerns you on its own individual slip of paper. You would need a whole lot of slips! Family, church, school, friends, team mates, sports, politics, environment - EVERYTHING. Now imagine drawing a small circle on a piece of paper. Then draw a bigger circle around that first one. Then, go through all those slips of paper, and pick out the things that you have direct control over. These are things like: your behavior, your attitude, your performance in school or sport. Put those things in the small circle in the center. Then, go through your slips again and pick out those things that you can influence or change, but you can’t control. These things might include, your friends, family, team mates, school government, your coach, etc. You influence these things & people by talking with them, working with them, and being around them. Now take those slips of paper and put them in the larger circle.
Everything inside the circle is something that you can either control or effect in a positive or negative way. This is your Circle of Influence (COI)! What you do with the things in your Circle is up to you. Many people through history have been very successful in expanding their circle to include thousands, millions, or even billions of people. But whatever you do, you must work within your circle to get it done. No matter how small your "COI" is, it is the key to your success. Successful people do not waste their energy or time worrying about things outside their Circle. They work to strengthen and expand it!
Expanding your COI requires one thing: a strong Emotional Bank Account. In other words, you must build the trust of others by making many deposits over a long time. Without trust, you are unlikely to have any influence.
This information is adapted directly from the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Steven Covey. Please read the real book, or one of the many companion books in the series.
Kathy Hamilton/simikathy.com
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