In the United States today, it’s fashionable to see ourselves as victims. Commentators on the far left will tell you that skin color traps people in poverty and that people cannot determine their own fate. Commentators on the far right will tell you that immigrants are stealing jobs and that there’s nothing we can do about it. Both sets of voices tell us we’re helpless victims. But cultivating a victim complex is lethal to our ability to achieve our goals and build the life we desire.
Fortunately, there’s a better way: cultivating an internal locus of control. What is an internal locus of control? Put simply, it’s the idea that you always have a choice about how you respond. The world might buffet us, our friends or family may even betray us, and our jobs may get automated; but no matter what, we can control our mindset and response. This is the anti-victimhood mindset.