The kids are back in school and The Economist asked: if you could bestow any quality on your children, what would it be? This definitely caught my attention.
It wasn’t great intelligence, empathy for humanity, or the ability to pass a fridge without opening it. Deborah Cobb-Clark, an economist at the University of Sydney, said it is an internal locus of control — the ability to take agency over your own life:
“People with an internal locus of control believe that they are able to shape the world around them; those with an external locus of control tend to think that luck, destiny or other people determine their fate.”
In other words, when Rodney doesn’t feel helpless over his life, career, and wages, he is more likely to shape the world around himself and be more entrepreneurial. Cobb-Clark also noted that many people “routinely underestimate their power to exert control over their circumstances.”
Agency is the quiet difference between a life you steer and a life you endure.
Researchers have also found that households with a greater sense of agency build more wealth. Not necessarily because they earned more — but because they made better choices.
I’ve witnessed this often over the course of my career. Those who take agency over their lives still save — even when times are challenging.
There are unexpected world events. Bad things happen in the markets. Interest rates go up. I’ve seen too many people cash out their investments at exactly the wrong moment — in the middle of a downturn — because they want out before the market “takes it all.” And then they miss the recovery. That is exactly the external locus of control Cobb-Clark describes — the belief that the market is doing this to you.
Agency in the market is about what we can control. How much we save, how long we stay in the market, what we pay in fees and taxes, and how investments are allocated.
It’s a short list — but one that takes time and agency. It is also, conveniently, most of the outcome.
So please — take agency over your investments — and then stay the course!
Plan well,
Barbara
September 13, 2026
Source:
- https://www.economist.com/business/2026/08/27/the-quality-you-should-most-wish-for-your-children
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