Owning the Helm: Your Locus of Control

“When you shift your locus of control inward, you stop waiting to be rescued—and start becoming the one you’ve been waiting for.”

June, 2025

Owning the Helm: Why Locus of Control Shapes Your Performance and Potential

In the pursuit of peak performance, many look outward—at goals, teams, or timelines. But the real transformation often begins inward, with one deceptively powerful question:

“Who’s in charge of how I experience my life?”

This is the heart of locus of control.

What Is Locus of Control?

Locus of control refers to your belief system about what influences your outcomes. Do you believe success is mostly shaped by your actions and decisions (internal locus)? Or by luck, circumstances, or other people (external locus)?

This concept, rooted in psychology, doesn’t just influence how you interpret events. It affects how you lead, how you recover, and whether you even try.

• Those with a strong internal locus tend to take initiative, persist through obstacles, and view setbacks as opportunities to grow.

• Those with a predominant external locus may feel reactive, disempowered, or stuck waiting for conditions to change before taking action.

Why It Matters in Coaching and Flow

High-flow coaching is all about unlocking agency—the belief that you can shape your life experience with intention. Flow states, after all, aren’t gifted to you by chance. They’re cultivated by learning how to manage your focus, emotions, and challenge levels in real-time.

And that’s a skill rooted in self-leadership.

When we help clients shift toward a more internal locus of control, they stop waiting for permission. They begin designing how they show up—day by day, decision by decision.

How to Cultivate an Internal Locus of Control

Here are a few key strategies to help shift your center of power inward:

• Reframe language: Notice when you’re saying “I had to” or “they made me” and replace it with “I chose to” or “I responded by…” Subtle? Yes. Empowering? Absolutely.

• Track wins and patterns: Build evidence that your actions influence outcomes. Even small examples build belief.

• Clarify your sphere of influence: Focus on what you can control—and take consistent action there.

• Invest in reflection: Journaling or coaching conversations help unpack limiting narratives and rebuild agency over time.