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Productivity begins with motivation. It takes motivation to examine the way we’re using our time, energy, and resources. It also takes motivation to decide how to reallocate those things and then to actually do it. And motivation, according to Charles Duhigg, the author of the bestseller Smarter, Faster, Better, starts with control. More specifically, it starts with where we perceive control to lie.
Since the 1950s, psychologists have been studying the effect of our understandings of our own “locus of control.” They have found that people with an external locus of control perceive the general direction of their lives to be outside of their control and believe that life is something that “happens” to them. People with an internal locus of control, on the other hand, perceive themselves to be in charge of their own destinies and attribute success or failure to their own efforts. As you can imagine, those with an internal locus of control invariably get far superior results in life and career—they achieve more professionally, have happier relationships, and are less stressed and depressed with longer life spans.
Fortunately, locus of control is not something that is fixed. It’s not something we’re born with. It’s not an innate personality trait like introversion or extroversion. Instead, says Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, it’s a learned skill that can be practiced and cultivated, like reading or writing. The key is forcing yourself to take control of your own choices. You want to trigger a “will to act.” You want to adopt the mindset that one concrete choice necessarily leads to another. So when you’re facing an overwhelming project, this mindset propels you to decide on one small step to take to get started, then take that step. When you have a mile-long list of phone calls to make, you just pick one number off the list and dial. If there’s a difficult conversation you need to have, decide on your opening line, then deliver it. The point is to find a choice that allows you to exert control and move forward.
Control and motivation are inextricably mixed. Our belief that we are in control of our actions and our surroundings is a prerequisite to motivation. If we don’t feel as if we’re in control, it’s hard to be motivated. When we do feel we are in control, we are more likely to work harder and push ourselves further. And how do we convince ourselves that we are in control? We make decisions. Sometimes we modify and work around instructions. In doing so, we have a sense of self-determination and autonomy. We make what may feel like a chore into a meaningful choice. We learn to see these choices as expressions of control, but also as reinforcements of our goals and values. Eventually, an internal locus of control emerges after all of this becomes a habit.