Focus on Your Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern

Focus on What Matters

There it is again. My heart races for just a few moments.

“What am I going to do about…?” the voice inside my head asks.

Anxiety, you are a familiar “friend” in this New Normal, The Dim Age.

But with “friends” like this, who needs enemies?

Circle of Concern

I stop and ask myself:

How much of this really matters? – That is the Circle of Concern.

Does it really affect me?

Let’s get real. That thing that is happening in Texas that is the Outrage-of-the-day on social media. Does it really impact me?

If I don’t live in Texas, chances are it doesn’t impact me at all.

Does it even concern me?

Probably not.

How much of this can I actually do something about?

Even if we are talking about in my home state or even in my city:

Is it something I can directly do something about myself? – That is the Circle of Control.

If the answer is “No”, then Do I know someone involved? Are they a family member, friend, a co-worker, a neighbor? – That is the Circle of Influence.

If I don’t know the person and don’t have any influence with them as a family member, friend, or acquaintance, the answer is almost surely “No”.

So why waste emotional energy on it?

How many hours do I spend worrying about things I cannot control? Too many.

Tomorrow at work I may have a meeting with a challenging team member, or perhaps a demanding client. I like to role play out and strategize in my mind how I think that it will play out.

What percentage of the time does it play out like I planned? Less than 10%.

I want to burn less emotional energy. I want to have less anxiety.

I want to be free of the snares that so easily entangle me.

Tip: Focus on the Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern.

Only spend emotional energy on the things that fall inside these two circles; only on the things that really matter.