Question

What does “being in control” of one’s life mean? Can believing that you have total control ever be a negative thing? What factors influence whether or not a person feels they are in “control” of their life?

Answer 1

Being 'in control' of one's life would imply having absolute command over one's actions and the consequences that can result from it. In my opinion, an extreme form of this belief would be quite dangerous as it can lead an individual to attempt to control all facets of his/her life, including those are far beyond one's finite abilities. Subsequently, a failure to control such events would lead to feels of frustration and anxiety.

The 'locus of control' has been proposed as a behavioral and personality trait that indicates the extent to which believes that he/she has control over the outcome of the events of one's life. Individuals differ in the degree to which they place believe internal factors such as personal abilities as opposed to external factors such as luck and fate control their lives.