Locus of control
Etymology
From Latin "locus" ("place") and "control." Psychologist Julian Rotter introduced the concept in the 1950s and named it in the 1960s, distinguishing an "internal" locus (outcomes follow from your actions) from an "external" one (outcomes follow from luck, fate, or powerful others).
noun phrase · /LOH-kus uv kun-TROHL/
The degree to which you believe you control what happens to you, versus attributing it to outside forces.
What it names
A handle for a basic difference in outlook — do you feel like the author of your life, or the object of it?
Example
Her internal locus of control meant she treated the setback as a problem to solve, not a verdict from the universe.
Related idea
Self-efficacy is the belief that you can do a specific task; locus of control is the broader belief about whether your actions shape your fate at all.