Circle of Concern vs Circle of Influence

[Posthumane]

I liked the recent post regarding one's circle of control vs. circle of influence. I have been meaning to Covey's 7 Habits for a while, but I've only ever read summaries of it rather than the actual book. Time to get off my butt and into the library!

Anyway, while I agree with the concept, I have a little to say about the implementation of aligning one's two circles. Covey and MMM basically say that if you have no direct control over something, you should not pay attention to it. I think there are some things that the idea shouldn't apply to, namely those things over which you have no direct control but which you can use to your advantage (or disadvantage) to influence other things.

Take the weather, for example. Obviously I have no direct control over the weather (yet!), but I do use it to plan my activities for maximum satisfaction. MMM uses the attitude "The weather is crappy, if only it was better I could do X" as an example of what not to do, but I think there is a more productive way to look at it. Let's say I have a day off to do whatever leisure activity I feel like. I check the weather in the morning:
-Beautiful, sunny, calm wind day? I may go out biking, play with the dog outside, etc.
-Sunny and warm with moderate winds? Hmm, maybe I'll go fly a kite or go dinghy sailing.
-Winds gusting to 55 knots and pissing down hail? Perhaps today I'll make a cup of coffee and spend some time in the garage repacking the wheel bearings and doing a tune-up on my bicycle, which I've been meaning to do for some time.
-Steady heavy rain? Maybe try out that rain water collection system I've been putting off.
-Lots of snow fall and temperatures just below freezing? Great day to go skiing, snow-shoeing, or make a snow hut..

So, while I have no direct control over the weather I still pay attention to it because I have direct control over what I do during the day to optimise the use of current weather conditions to maximize my enjoyment. I think the same concept can be applied a number of other things that you don't have control over. The trick is not to get upset or stressed when conditions change, but use the changes accordingly.

[Daley]

So, while I have no direct control over the weather I still pay attention to it because I have direct control over what I do during the day to optimise the use of current weather conditions to maximize my enjoyment. I think the same concept can be applied a number of other things that you don't have control over. The trick is not to get upset or stressed when conditions change, but use the changes accordingly.

Completely agreed, and those were the points I was trying to drive towards in the thread started by Spodek in response to the previous post.

I do think if MMM had lead with today's post and followed-up into the previous instead of the other way around, far more people would have better understood the point he was driving towards and would have had less room for misinterpretation in the information being relayed. Can't change the past and it's a learning lesson for all, and it still inspired a great deal of intelligent debate in a few spots. Like you, I'm still not 100% in agreement with the stated thrust, but that's not a bad thing. It's the differences that helps forge a greater understanding on a whole.

[boy_bye]

i think the point of the circle of influence vs. circle of concern concept is to focus as much as you can on your circle of influence. there will always be circle-of-concern things that impact you (that's why you're concerned with them!) but the idea is to avoid throwing your effort and energy into stuff that you can't do shit about.

doesn't mean you don't need to be aware of what's happening in the wider circle, but that you should focus most of your thinking and doing on the circle of influence. otherwise you run the risk of becoming one of those people who gets themselves stirred up about stuff that doesn't actually have any impact on their lives. (like, when people get depressed when the steelers are 0 for 5).

i wrote about this on my blog recently, too, except i used the metaphor of my dance space vs. your dance space. i need to focus on mine before i focus on anyone else's -- that's actually the only way to change anything in the world. you gotta start in the small circle and maybe if you're lucky/on the right track, your changes will ripple out.

[Jamesqf]

So, while I have no direct control over the weather I still pay attention to it because I have direct control over what I do during the day to optimise the use of current weather conditions to maximize my enjoyment. I think the same concept can be applied a number of other things that you don't have control over.

Pretty much the point I was trying to make.  Lots of the things that are outside your circle of control still affect what's inside the circle.  For example, I had been planning to go to the Forest Service office last week to get my firewood cutting permit for the year, but knowing about the government shutdown (sonething outside my control) means I avoided making a wasted ~20 mile trip.