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Now plot your placement on this line based on the following explanation of life. This isn't just business related, but applies to your personal life as well.
External thinkers
People who are at the External end feel they have absolutely no control in their life. Their book is already written. They are scheduled to die at a certain point, regardless of whether they eat well, exercise or smoke… so they can go ahead and enjoy life to the fullest because those things won't make any difference. Everything in their life - good or bad - has already been determined by fate. As far as their job is concerned, there is no point trying to get ahead by giving it their heart and soul. The boss has been predetermined, and if it isn't supposed to be them, then it won't be, regardless of what they do to try to change that.
Is that you? I hope not. But, believe it or not, this does represent how many people actually think. If you are one of them, put your X near the word External on the line.
Internal thinkers
At the opposite extreme, at the Internal end, the complete opposite is true. If this is you, you feel that you have complete, 100 per cent control of your life. That you always have a choice and that you are where you are based on your past choices. You believe that the things that happen are consequences of the choices you have made. There is no book on you - you decide where your life will go. If this is where you are, put your X on the end of the line near Internal.
Now of course, there are varying degrees to all of this. Exactly in the middle, for instance, are the people who believe they can control some things in their lives, but not everything. Where are you? Put your X somewhere that represents you. I would like to caution you against choosing the exact middle, though. Force yourself to decide whether you are more of an External or Internal thinker.
As you can imagine, I fall on the Internal side. I do believe in the entire theory of choices and consequences. I believe that I am here because of the decisions I have made. While I am not on the extreme end of Internal, I am way past the middle.
What does that allow in my life? It allows me to feel that I am in control. It allows me to take responsibility and feel responsible. It allows me to feel in control of my own destiny.
If you are on the External end of the line, ask yourself whether you can push yourself closer to the middle. Question why you believe what you believe. Wouldn't you feel better, more positive and more in control if you relied on your own life decisions?
Children can be External thinkers
My son, Christopher, often feels on the External end of the line. Perhaps it's part of being a child, who don't have nearly as much control as adults do. If Christopher is pouring juice in the kitchen and it spills, I don't even have to ask and he will say, "It wasn't my fault." He often feels that teachers, situations and events gang up on him to make him look bad or to get him in trouble. Doesn't it drive you crazy when adults do this? If you are an "External" thinker, you just might be giving that impression to others.
So ask yourself what decisions and consequences in life you can control, and take control of them. For those other areas in which you feel no control, ask yourself what you can do to feel more in control. You'll be amazed at how much more positive you feel when you become an Internal thinker.
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