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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. Septem autem illi non suo, sed populorum suffragio omnium nominati sunt. Nec vero sum nescius esse utilitatem in historia, non modo voluptatem. Si longus, levis dictata sunt. Itaque primos congressus copulationesque et consuetudinum instituendarum voluntates fieri propter voluptatem; Sed virtutem ipsam inchoavit, nihil amplius. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Verum esto: verbum ipsum voluptatis non habet dignitatem, nec nos fortasse intellegimus. Ergo ita: non posse honeste vivi, nisi honeste vivatur? Multa sunt dicta ab antiquis de contemnendis ac despiciendis rebus humanis; Eaedem res maneant alio modo. Hoc est non dividere, sed frangere. Eadem nunc mea adversum te oratio est. Collatio igitur ista te nihil iuvat. Cur igitur, inquam, res tam dissimiles eodem nomine appellas? Haec para/doca illi, nos admirabilia dicamus. Legimus tamen Diogenem, Antipatrum, Mnesarchum, Panaetium, multos alios in primisque familiarem nostrum Posidonium. Sin dicit obscurari quaedam nec apparere, quia valde parva sint, nos quoque concedimus; Immo vero, inquit, ad beatissime vivendum parum est, ad beate vero satis. Quo modo autem philosophus loquitur? Summus dolor plures dies manere non potest? Videmus igitur ut conquiescere ne infantes quidem possint.
- Audit your focus.
Spend a week tracking how much you focus on factors that are out of your control ...
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Quis est, qui non oderit libidinosam, protervam adolescentiam? Bork An quod ita callida est, ut optime possit architectari voluptates? Quae cum dixisset paulumque institisset, Quid est?
Hic ambiguo ludimur. Illa sunt similia: hebes acies est cuipiam oculorum, corpore alius senescit; Sin autem eos non probabat, quid attinuit cum iis, quibuscum re concinebat, verbis discrepare? Id enim volumus, id contendimus, ut officii fructus sit ipsum officium. Ergo in gubernando nihil, in officio plurimum interest, quo in genere peccetur. Roges enim Aristonem, bonane ei videantur haec: vacuitas doloris, divitiae, valitudo;
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