The Circle of Influence

Now, whenever we hear of 'circles', many flimsy things like Google+, etc. might come to our minds. But attending a lecture on 'The Art of Making Presentation', by one of the foremost professors in our department, has changed my perception of this word forever!

Sir divided everything around us (including people, problems at work, etc.) into two broad categories, viz. 'Circle of Influence' and 'Circle of Concern'. Although I personally feel that there should also be a so-called 'Circle of Non-existence', as some rarities are not even worth concerning ourselves with, I shall include this under the 'Circle of Concern' and stick with Sir's point of view to keep this discussion short and crisp.

Now, the 'Circle of Influence' is actually a subset of the 'Circle of Concern', which encompasses all those concerns over which we have some control. Proactive people are the ones who focus only on their 'Circle of Influence', to cut out any kind of negativity which might creep into their lives, thanks to their 'Circle of Concern'! On the other hand, reactive people are those who can't resist focusing on their 'Circle of Concern', and as a result get wound up in unnecessarily time consuming, distracting and fruitless issues, which causes their 'Circle of Influence' to shrink! Why should your identity be stifled by your peripheral presence in someone else's circle, when you can have your own unique individualistic identity and form your own circle as an elemental member?...

Now, this topic had connected to me instantly when it was being presented, because I had already felt a major change coming over me throughout my third year in college, i.e. from reactive to proactive. I used to be one of the most unpredictable, impulsive and vengeful guys even until a few years back. I guess that would easily put me under the category of reactive people, right? But, due to all the enlightening experiences I've had throughout my engineering college life, I'm slowly but surely being transformed into a positive thinking, aim oriented proactive person. I'm grateful for this change and as I further continue to develop, I'd suggest others to give this topic a serious thought as it can really play a major role in changing your life for the better!!!...

  BE THE FORCE!!!...

Some of my closest friends & I at Lal Bagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore