Quality of Life: Shifting focus from the Circle of Concern to the Circles of Control and Influence

 With June here, the rainy season officially begins in Acapulco. Usually it's almost like clockwork. In the past seven years, five of them, rain fell in the first week of June. Only one year did it take until the second half of June before it rained. This year has certainly started unusually, we've already had rain four times in the last week of May. It's honestly refreshing to have rain after not seeing it for six or seven months. But for many, the rain brings humidity and for those used to living in controlled environments, it can be uncomfortable. For me, on the otherhand, it's just another welcome season. The rain greens things up... and everything that grows... explodes! I enjoy Acapulco year round!

This brings me to the point of this article. Weather falls into the category of the Circle of Concern. Something popularized by Stephen Covey's book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". "Your Circle of Concern includes everything that you are personally concerned about, including government affairs, the environment, and even things closer to you like a neighbor's poorly kept yard. These are elements that may impact daily life, but you have no direct influence over them. Focusing on these matters excessively drains your energy and impacts your attitude towards elements within your Circle of Influence." ~Dr. Uma Sharma, Chief Scientific Officer at MMS Holdings

Unfortunately, most "modern society" people spend far too much of their precious energy and time involved in this area of their life and it's to their detriment. This time and energy is mostly wasted and they aren't getting it back! Unlike Acapulco, where the weather is consistently wonderful, it may be useful to know the weather report for the day or the week ahead and plan accordingly. But, beyond that, the usefulness drops of tremendously. Spending your day worrying about what the weather may be like in 2100... is going to be time misallocated. 

For those interested in enhancing the quality of their lives, taking that time and transferring it toward two other circles... the Circle of Influence or Circle of Control is going to be tremendously beneficial. This is one of the benefits of the Ethical Emergence course. Removing useless habits and practices and building beneficial habits and practices that are not only propitious, it can also be fun! This is what I would describe as the opportunity to design one's playground. Identifying that useless time... then creatively outlining a fun and interesting plan of action. Then enjoying the execution of that plan. Is a way to train one's self to create a pattern of enhancing one's life that can then be repeated over and over again... constantly improving.

So let's define the two other circles.

"Your Circle of Influence is a smaller circle that sits inside your Circle of Concern. It contains all the things from your Circle of Concern that concern you and that you can do something about (ie Influence). After all, we have no control of the weather, but we can improve our health by exercising more, eating more green stuff and drinking less alcohol. This is why it is important to take time to identify the things in your Circle of Influence within your Circle of Concern." ~Alice Dartnell

"Working largely within the Circle of Influence is a positive game changer in terms of your level of satisfaction and overall emotional health. The rewards are directly visible and can be seen from a pharmacological level as well. Such positive personal and professional experiences lead to higher levels of oxytocin and lower levels of cortisol, which in turn help to alleviate stress and pain."~ Uma Sharma

Circle of Control: "This encompasses those circumstances/issues/problems that we have direct control over. This includes problems involving our own behaviour and thoughts. (Although we don’t have the power to control all of the thoughts that come into our minds, we do have the power to choose whether or not to allow them to stay.  Thoughts come and go.  What we choose to linger on is a big part of what creates our reality)."  ~Claire Newton

Keep in mind there are things that are outside all of these circles... the area of No Concern. That can be a great place to relegate truly unnecessary things, but it can be a blind spot to very important relevant things too. I will leave that for now, but it's good to be conscious of. For me and the aforementioned Acapulco weather, I slip it into this area... and haven't looked at a weather report in years.

With all that said, taking the time to create lists of important things to you can then categorize can be very helpful in determining where to focus your time and energy more effectively and efficiently. If you've ever heard of, or read the book "The Four-Hour Work Week," this is how that seeming impossibility actually can become a reality. To sum up that book in one sentence... If you can meet your financial requirements to live enjoyably in four hours per week... or even ten, it opens up a great deal of other opportunities for enhancing your quality of life. 

If that sounds interesting to you, you may be interested in learning more about the Ethical Emergence course. It's a thirteen week online experience that is uniquely crafted specifically for the individual's situation, goals, and desires. It focuses on seven specific areas of habit and daily practice building and can lead to developing a project management mindset. Please feel free to email or schedule a time with me to discuss this further (You can find my contact info in the About the Author section). The course is limited to a small group of eight to ten creative and motivated people who are striving to make the world a better place for themselves, their loved ones and humanity... A Win-Win-Win!

Respirar Acapulco is a blog that is also an effort to meet and collaborate with like-minded people. Knowledgeable, trustworthy, inspired people coming together with the willing and friendly communities of Acapulco. Which is strategically located, fertile ground for entrepreneurs, has a low cost of living, a high quality of life, a healthy culture, and much more. Here, we can demonstrate and breathe life into the tremendous possibilities for truth, freedom, and prosperity for all who desire it, together. If this sound interesting...You are invited to participate! Join us!.