Hardik Joshi Using Circle of Influence in our daily lives

Using Circle of Influence

in our daily lives

ARTICLE HARDIK JOSHI

As we go about our life, we often feel overwhelmed by people, situations, circumstances, and even the environment. Distressed by situations, we take the responsibility on ourselves to take care of everything – only to realise we are just a fragmented part of the whole equation. And then?

We end up repeating the old cycles, “Life is so unfair”, “Oh! It’s all his fault”, “Because of this I couldn’t do that”. It seems like we are always blaming something else for the results we get.

I’m not saying life is not hard. But it is only as hard as you make out of it!

The truth is – YOU have complete control for the results you get ! Nothing outside of you has the power to influence you, your inner peace, and the outcomes you envision. It all depends on how you react! And this is precisely what Stephen Covey talks about in his bestselling book ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’.

In his book, Covey explains this with the concept of Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence – a complete life changer.

Circle of Control

Circle of Influence

Circle of Concern

(Image source: https://www.thensomehow.com/circles-of-influence/)

The Circle of Concern includes a wide range of things – including global warming, finances, national debt, government, family, the attitude of the society, what you feel like cooking tomorrow, etc.

The actual list depends on the individual. These are the things we have no control over – and there is almost little to nothing we can do about it. In other words, they are outside our influence. So why invest our time, energy, and efforts in such things that we can’t even control?

On the other hand, comes the Circle of Influence which includes things that are within your control – things that you can do something about. Firstly you must understand: energy and time are limited. And once spent can never be reused.

So the energy you focus on the Circle of Concern is negative. It depletes our mental health. And often, we are so much concerned about our Circle of Concern (or negativity) that we often neglect the Circle of Influence – which is our true potential.

And added with our feelings of stress and helplessness amplified, the Circle of Influence gets smaller.

Proactive people focus on the Circle of Influence – because they know this is the area they know they have complete control over. This decreases their stress level, and they lead a more happy and content life.

Whereas reactive people focus on the Circle of Concern – and as a result, they waste their energy and potential thinking of the things they have no control over.

But now you know better!

“At the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of my life, I want to say that I contributed more than I criticized. It is that simple.” – Brené Brown

3 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE AND IMPROVE YOUR LIFESTYLE

1. The outside is a mess – and you have no control of what is going on out there. However, you shape the world that’s inside you – so design it consciously. Don’t let the outside noise break your potential. 2. “Don’t get lost chasing rabbits when you’re hunting elephants.” Know what’s important and focus your energy on that! 3. Start putting the right things in, and wrong things out.

Before you go…

You always have a choice – you must choose consciously where to direct your valuable energy and time. Remember, energy flows where attention goes? And honey, your energy is expensive – invest it mindfully!

Hardik Joshi worked for India’s largest IT company TCS before the entrepreneurial bug bit him. His love for raw, unadulterated honey, his eagerness to help everyone discover and enjoy pure honey, and his passion for sustainable farming practices led to launching HoneyVeda. Today, HoneyVeda works with farmers across five Indian states to harvest raw honey and deliver it to consumers. As a founder, Hardik travels a great deal but always finds time for meditations, workouts, and music. Bee healthy, bee productive, and bee happy is the mantra HoneyVeda follows today! www.honeyveda.in