There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe they can make things happen and those who believe things happen to them.
The first group is convinced that the outcome of their lives and careers is more or less in their own hands, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
The second group takes more of a Forrest Gump approach--they sit around and wait for the bus to take them somewhere.
University of Florida psychologist Tim Judge and his colleagues have shown overwhelmingly that people who feel that they control the events in their lives (more than the events control them) and are confident in their abilities end up doing better on nearly every important measure of work performance.
In Judge's studies, these individuals--we'll call them "the Empowered"--were found to do the following:
- Sell more than other employees do
- Give better customer service
- Adjust better to new assignments
- Take home an average of 50 to 150 percent more in annual income
In Good Times and Bad
Of course, when good times are rolling, nearly all of us believe we have the world by the tail. What makes the Empowered in Tim Judge's studies special--whether they work the shop floor or in the C-suite--is that they don't get overwhelmed when the going gets tough.
Just like you, the Empowered feel intense stress and anxiety when hard times strike, but they use this anxiety differently. Since the Empowered believe that they have control over the outcomes in their lives, their anxiety fuels passion instead of pity, drive in lieu of despair, and tenacity over trepidation.
Whether the Empowered find themselves presiding over a division with tanking revenues, on the receiving end of a scathing performance review, or staring yet another job-hunting rejection in the face, they refuse to wave the white flag. They redouble their efforts.
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