Welcome to Episode 33: How to Regain Control of Your Life: Reflecting on Your Locus of Control, where Dr. Marcus and Charlie explore how our sense of control shapes wellbeing, motivation, and resilience, and how we can reclaim balance in a world that constantly feels out of our hands.

From Rotter’s Locus of Control Theory (1966) to Seligman’s research on Learned Helplessness, this episode dives deep into the psychology of control, why some people feel empowered to act, while others feel life just happens to them.

And crucially, how to find the middle ground between acceptance and agency.

💭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What “Locus of Control” really means 🧭

• Why control impacts stress, success, and wellbeing 💡

• When internal control can lead to overdrive and burnout ⚡

• Why external control can fuel helplessness and anxiety 🌀

• How to strike a healthy balance between the two ⚖️

🛠 Practical Advice for Listeners:

• Run a Control Audit: focus on what’s truly within reach

• Reframe “I can’t” into “I haven’t yet found a way”

• Practice Flexible Control: know when to act and when to let go

• Journal small wins to rewire agency

• Remember: control isn’t binary... it’s a spectrum

📍 Pillars explored: Introspection & Inspiration, Presence & Gratitude, Wellbeing & Joy

🎧 Hit play to discover how to stop chasing control, start reclaiming calm, and take ownership of your energy without exhausting it.

📚 References cited in this episode:

• Drago, A., Rheinheimer, D. C., & Detweiler, T. N. (2016). Effects of locus of control, academic Self-Efficacy, and tutoring on academic performance. Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice, 19(4), 433–451. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025116645602

• Gale, C. R., Batty, G. D., & Deary, I. J. (2008). Locus of control at age 10 years and health outcomes and behaviors at age 30 years: the 1970 British Cohort Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(4), 397–403. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e318...

• Hovenkamp-Hermelink, J. H., Jeronimus, B. F., Van Der Veen, D. C., Spinhoven, P., Penninx, B. W., Schoevers, R. A., & Riese, H. (2019). Differential associations of locus of control with anxiety, depression and life-events: A five-wave, nine-year study to test stability and change. Journal of Affective Disorders, 253, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.04...

• Irion, J. C., & Blanchard-Fields, F. (1987). A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Adaptive Coping in Adulthood. Journal of Gerontology, 42(5), 502–504. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/42.5.502

• Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. (1976). Learned helplessness: Theory and evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 105(1), 3–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.105...

• Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 80(1), 1.