Sort your circles.
How to let go of the stuff you can’t control.
Feeling overwhelmed by overthinking? Win back control by sorting your can-do from the can’t-change-it with a little help from the Circles of Influence.
What is it?
A simple tool to help you focus on the stuff you can actually control.
Who is it for?
Anyone who is a chronic worrier.
People who want to focus on the things that matter.
How does it work?
Ever heard the Serenity Prayer?
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
It’s just common sense, right? There’s some stuff we can fix, and others we can’t. Sometimes it can be hard to know which circle you’re playing in - and that’s when productivity grinds to a halt.
Steven Covey recognised this, and published The Circles of Influence. They were his way of sorting the proactive from the reactive. They look a bit like this:
Right at the centre is your Circle of Control. One way to think of it is that’s ‘Your job’.
Things we can control are often things we’re paid to do. The ball’s firmly in our court - ours to look after.
The middle circle is your Circle of Influence. We think of it as ‘Your opportunity’.
Things we influence are opportunities where we can help others or be proactive. They’re things that can help us grow professionally and personally.
The outer circle is the Circle of Concern. That’s the circle we call ‘Your funeral’.
These are things that are totally out of your control. Like how others react or big stuff happening in the world. We can’t control them, so time spent thinking about stuff in this circle is is usually frustrating and fruitless.
Just like the Serenity Prayer, the secret of these circles is knowing which circle stuff sits in.
If something is in your control, own it and act on it. If there’s opportunity within your influence, step up and have a go.
But if there’s big picture stuff that you can’t control or influence, the best thing you can do is be okay with it. Just make like Elsa and let it go.
Learn more
Steven Covey - The Circles of Influence
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