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This model is reflected by a famous quote by Reinhold Niebuhr: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, ... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quid ad utilitatem tantae pecuniae? Tu enim ista lenius, hic Stoicorum more nos vexat. Comprehensum, quod cognitum non habet? Paulum, cum regem Persem captum adduceret, eodem flumine invectio? Cum id fugiunt, re eadem defendunt, quae Peripatetici, verba. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sin te auctoritas commovebat, nobisne omnibus et Platoni ipsi nescio quem illum anteponebas? Cur tantas regiones barbarorum pedibus obiit, tot maria transmisit? Istam voluptatem perpetuam quis potest praestare sapienti? Non modo carum sibi quemque, verum etiam vehementer carum esse? Itaque contra est, ac dicitis; Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Igitur neque stultorum quisquam beatus neque sapientium non beatus. Non enim iam stirpis bonum quaeret, sed animalis. Tollitur beneficium, tollitur gratia, quae sunt vincla concordiae. Et ille ridens: Video, inquit, quid agas; Tu quidem reddes; Quae cum praeponunt, ut sit aliqua rerum selectio, naturam videntur sequi; Parvi enim primo ortu sic iacent, tamquam omnino sine animo sint. Idemque diviserunt naturam hominis in animum et corpus. De vacuitate doloris eadem sententia erit. Illum mallem levares, quo optimum atque humanissimum virum, Cn. Non igitur bene.
- Audit your focus.
Spend a week tracking how much you focus on factors that are out of your control ...
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It can be difficult to determine what’s in your Circle of Concern versus your Circle of Influence. For example, as a senior manager, a member of your team might be influenced by you yet will ultimately make their own decisions. One strategy to mitigate this is to consider an additional element called the 'Circle of Control', which relates directly to your behaviour at the centre of the two circles.
Another potential challenge lies when taking this model to its extreme, as it can be used to justify 'narcissistic tendencies' by focusing on yourself rather than using it as a means to engage or impact the external world.
Victor Frankl and the holocaust
Covey’s example of applying this model puts a lot in perspective. He cites the story of Austrian psychiatrist Victor Frankl and his experience in the Nazi holocaust.
Frankl saw most of his family killed and everything stripped away from him, yet he endured. Frankl said: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
Hopefully, you’ll use this heroic example of proactivity as inspiration rather than intimidation.
This model particularly aligns with productivity models that encourage high value activity.
Use the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave the circle of concern and influence into your broader latticework of mental models. Alternatively, discover your own connections by exploring the category list above.
Connected models:
- Psychological Safety: this model can support the development of psychological safety by shifting from a blame culture.
Complementary models:
- Growth mindset: combining this mental model with a growth mindset allows you to consider how to increase your circle of influence.
- Habit formation and habit stacking: developing these practices as daily habits and processes to use in meetings becomes a powerful life approach.
- Cialidini’s Six Principles of Influence: Cialdini's model aims to extend your influence over people and can be used to challenge the defined limits of the circle of concern and influence as a result.
- Jealousy as a Map: to help establish your priority goals.
This model was created by Stephen Covey, author and speaker and was first featured in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'. Find out more by visiting the Franklin Covey Institute here.
My Notes
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Arun,
A proactivity tool is mentioned in Actionable takeaways, how or where can we get access to this?
Thanks
Dimiter