Being Proactive

The term "proactive" was made popular by Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People -- great book. There's an earlier history to word. If you're interested click here.

"Proactive" is the opposite of "reactive."

When we lead a predominantly reactive life we live our lives primarily in response to events and circumstances.

When we lead a predominantly proactive life we lead our lives primarily by acting on our own values, plans, and desires.

It's action vs. reaction.

It's a powerful concept.

Being proactive involves making decisions and then acting. That means we need to overcome our fears, doubts, and blocks and be willing to take some risks.

Craig Harper has some good comments on being proactive on his blog.

Here are some extracts. He's a little blunt so please forgive the candor. I forgive him because we all need a wake up call at some point:

I know it all sounds a little businesslike, but sometimes we almost need to ... get a little analytical, unemotional, objective, and practical about what the heck we're doing with our life, our reality, and our existence here on the big blue ball. Some of us seem to have no idea, no plan, and no ability to make a decision. We seem to waste a lot of energy stumbling along to nowhere in particular, nowhere that we really want to be, anyway.

The scary thing is that, in a minute, we're all going to be five years older. Trust me, some people reading this will still be going around in circles, still procrastinating, still making excuses, still reacting and coping, and still talking about what they're going to do.

It seems many of us are professional waiters. That is, we spend our life waiting for some cosmic sign or unavoidable reason to make a decision, to do something, and to get off our ass. What a waste of time, talent, and potential....

Too many of us consistently avoid making decisions and let life or other people make our decisions for us. I have had hundreds of people, literally, over the years who have asked me to make their significant decisions for them. "You decide; you tell me what to do."

...Seriously guys, c'mon - make a decision. Make a bunch of them. Get uncomfortable. Take a risk. Be the 12-year-old sometimes. Do something...

Reactive is boring, frustrating, painful, unrewarding, unfulfilling, and illogical - especially when you consider what most of us want. Proactive is amazing, rewarding, challenging, and scary. I love a bit of scary.

Here are my simple, let's-not-make-it-too-tricky suggestions for moving from a reactive to proactive existence:

(1) Think, but not too much or you'll end up doing nothing.

(2) Consider and visualize the cost and the consequences of a lifetime of reacting.

(3) Create a to-do list right now and start ticking boxes today.

(4) Deal with your fears.

(5) Stop looking for, wanting, or needing the approval of others.

...

(8) Get stuff done early in the day whenever possible. It helps get your head in the right place.

(9) Use an accountability partner (friend, coach, or mentor) to help keep you on track.

(10) Have an opinion, get off the fence, and stop being a spectator.

Ready, set, go!

What are you still sitting down for?

-Forsyth