Knowing that we can control our own behaviour makes it more likely that we will.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
We misjudge risk if we feel we have some control over it, even if it's an illusory sense of control.
We almost always have choices, and the better the choice, the more we will be in control of our lives.
It's only when we are able to see our own behavior that we are able to wake up and start making conscious choices.
What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.
Situational variables can exert powerful influences over human behavior, more so that we recognize or acknowledge.
What leads us astray is confusing more choices with more control. Because it is not clear that the more choices you have the more in control you feel. We have more choices than we've ever had before.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
But we also believe in taking risks, because that's how you move things along.
When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression, we create the conditions for bringing out the best in us humans.
We are very influenced by completely automatic things that we have no control over, and we don't know we're doing it.