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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. Tu enim ista lenius, hic Stoicorum more nos vexat. Quae sequuntur igitur? Tertium autem omnibus aut maximis rebus iis, quae secundum naturam sint, fruentem vivere. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. In quo etsi est magnus, tamen nova pleraque et perpauca de moribus. Maximas vero virtutes iacere omnis necesse est voluptate dominante. Et quidem iure fortasse, sed tamen non gravissimum est testimonium multitudinis. Is ita vivebat, ut nulla tam exquisita posset inveniri voluptas, qua non abundaret. Quod ea non occurrentia fingunt, vincunt Aristonem; Neque solum ea communia, verum etiam paria esse dixerunt. Nihilo magis. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Illa tamen simplicia, vestra versuta. Optime, inquam. Graccho, eius fere, aequalí? Dolere malum est: in crucem qui agitur, beatus esse non potest. Ita cum ea volunt retinere, quae superiori sententiae conveniunt, in Aristonem incidunt; Fortitudinis quaedam praecepta sunt ac paene leges, quae effeminari virum vetant in dolore. Immo istud quidem, inquam, quo loco quidque, nisi iniquum postulo, arbitratu meo. At quicum ioca seria, ut dicitur, quicum arcana, quicum occulta omnia? Ego quoque, inquit, didicerim libentius si quid attuleris, quam te reprehenderim. Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Levatio igitur vitiorum magna fit in iis, qui habent ad virtutem progressionis aliquantum. Ait enim se, si uratur, Quam hoc suave! dicturum.
- Audit your focus.
Spend a week tracking how much you focus on factors that are out of your control ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Si stante, hoc natura videlicet vult, salvam esse se, quod concedimus; Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Nunc omni virtuti vitium contrario nomine opponitur. Nam constitui virtus nullo modo potesti nisi ea, quae sunt prima naturae, ut ad summam pertinentia tenebit. Utrum igitur tibi litteram videor an totas paginas commovere? Ergo ita: non posse honeste vivi, nisi honeste vivatur? Est igitur officium eius generis, quod nec in bonis ponatur nec in contrariis. Hoc est dicere: Non reprehenderem asotos, si non essent asoti. Ex rebus enim timiditas, non ex vocabulis nascitur. Expectoque quid ad id, quod quaerebam, respondeas.
Nulla profecto est, quin suam vim retineat a primo ad extremum. Cur igitur, inquam, res tam dissimiles eodem nomine appellas? Uterque enim summo bono fruitur, id est voluptate. Quid ergo aliud intellegetur nisi uti ne quae pars naturae neglegatur? Si stante, hoc natura videlicet vult, salvam esse se, quod concedimus; Te enim iudicem aequum puto, modo quae dicat ille bene noris. Aliter homines, aliter philosophos loqui putas oportere?
Graece donan, Latine voluptatem vocant. Egone non intellego, quid sit don Graece, Latine voluptas? Nam diligi et carum esse iucundum est propterea, quia tutiorem vitam et voluptatem pleniorem efficit. Ita enim vivunt quidam, ut eorum vita refellatur oratio. Quem Tiberina descensio festo illo die tanto gaudio affecit, quanto L. Qui-vere falsone, quaerere mittimus-dicitur oculis se privasse; At ille pellit, qui permulcet sensum voluptate.
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