Episode 23: The Agent of Your Own Life

The Agent of Your Own Life episode contrasts the long-reaching negative impacts of perennial victimhood mentality,  with the never-ending positive impact of being an individual who is 'the agent of their own life.'  As agentic, this individual recognizes that they can take actions and make decisions today that will make their tomorrow better. This contrasts with the perennial victim who always believes someone else's decision controls their access to success.

Someone who is the agent of their own life is a person who makes the choices that takes them where they want to go, overcoming disappointments, unfortunate hardships, and failure, by seeing each as an opportunity to learn. They never come back from a bad experience without having learned something important they apply today or another day in the future. 

A person who is the agent of their own life retains their power and control over their attitude and future, and is empowered and emboldened to see themselves as unstoppable with their goals because of their grit.  Contrast this with the perennial victim who is stuck, bitter, and angry, believing that the decisions made by others has complete control over their life. This person has surrendered control of their life and future to someone else. 

 All of this has immense impact on modern workplaces, families, and society. As a leader, can you help lead someone from victimhood mindset to being an agent of their own life? Dr. Chapman says yes, and explains how in this episode. How can each of us self-assess, accurately, to determine if we are effective agents of our own lives? Dr. Chapman also walks through practical strategies for this in the episode. This thirty minute episode answers many other questions related to this topic, as well. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:
 

>Bio of Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on LINKEDIN
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on FACEBOOK
>Safety Beyond The Numbers (book and seminar)
>Podcast interview with Tony Orlowski about Safety Beyond The Numbers
>Wall Street Journal Jonathan Haidt Article (referenced in episode)

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

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Thank you for being a Brain Chatter Podcast listener. Here you’ll find resources from each episode.  If you have questions or comments about an episode, feel welcome to email Derek at dcbrown@leaderscode.com

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