Pilot in the Plane Principle
The struggle for personal control is as old as humankind itself—primitive and innate. There is abundant evidence that most people desire control of the events in their lives, indeed over their lives, and that such strivings for control span history and cultures. The venues, mechanisms and instruments for control-striving today are different than they used to be, but the issue remains. In fact, psychological research suggests that an enormous range of human behaviours relate to control striving in some way and are intrinsically linked to healthy human functioning. For example, personal control is linked to the development of self-esteem and the reduction of stress, whereas loss of control increases the likelihood of feelings of helplessness and depression. In other words, having a desire for control over your life doesn’t make you a “control freak” (despite what your friends may say!). Instead, it is normal and healthy. Many entrepreneurs instinctively recognize the importance of personal control: fundamentally, many chose entrepreneurship because they want to be their own boss and choose their own course. Control enables entrepreneurs to work on things they think are important, set their own schedules and work with whom they want. Many entrepreneurs attest that they feel differently about running a business they own as compared with working for a wage, and that they value being in control. For them, the experience of personal control is closely associated with freedom, self-direction and autonomy. The strength of a person’s desire for control can be thought of as an element of his or her means: “Who you are.” While everyone has some desire for control, the intensity of that desire varies among individuals and over the course of a lifetime. For example, a high desire for control may motivate someone to become an entrepreneur, but the experience of working for himself may strengthen the desire even further—he may not be able to imagine working for anyone else again.