Would you call yourself the master of your own fate? Or do believe that your fate is completely out of your control?
If you said yes to the former, then you live your life with what is known to Psychologists as an Internal Locus of Control. This means that everything that happens to you, good or bad, is entirely your own doing.
For example if you get a promotion at work, it's because of all the hard work and effort you put into your job or if you fail at an exam, it's because you didn't study enough.
If you said yes to the latter, then you live your life with what is known to Psychologists as an External Locus of Control. This means that everything that happens to you, good or bad, happens due to outside forces.
For example, if your relationship with your boyfriend/girlfriend ends, it's because it was meant to be.
Another example of External Locus of Control was found when observers recorded death rates of Chinese participants suffering from heart conditions. In Chinese mythology, certain years are considered "bad" whereas others are considered "good". What's interesting is that those who were born in the "bad" years died at a younger age compared to those born in the "good" years despite them suffering from the exact same heart conditions.
Psychologists suggest that this is an example of External Locus of Control as those born in the "bad" years could not escape the misfortune that they believed came with being born in that year.
It's amazing how much our beliefs can affect how we live our lives, isn't it?
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