The Power of ‘Proactivity’

Life deals us a variety of cards on a daily basis.
Some are in line with what our goal in life is and others seem to push us off our path and we have to fight or struggle to get back on our path.

But there is an interesting question to consider: is it possible to control if we are pushed off our path or not?

There are two things we have to consider, and they are:

• What it means to be reactive, and
• what it means to be proactive.

To Be Reactive

this is quite simple to imagine because it’s what we mostly do everyday. Life deals you a card that doesn’t fit into your stack? You react. The reaction is based on various emotions: anger, sadness, disappointment or something else.

But note this:

To be reactive is to be acted upon.

It is to wait for someone to make the first move, and then you act on that move.

To Be Proactive

This on the other hand, we rarely pay attention to. It is when we don’t wait to be dealt a card that doesn’t fit into our stack, but we go right ahead and pick our favourite cards from the deck.
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The first habit Stephen R Covey mentioned is ‘Be Proactive‘. He pointed out that,

To be proactive is to act rather than to be acted upon.

It means to be responsible for our own lives.

To be proactive is to have the freedom of choice between stimulus and response.
It doesn’t mean we are not influenced by external stimuli, but our response to the stimuli, conscious or unconscious, is a value-based choice or response.
It is to accept responsibility and not blame circumstances or conditions for our behaviour.
Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can hurt you without your consent,” if our lives are the result of circumstances and conditions, it is because we have chosen to empower those things to control us.

And if that is the case, it means we can also make a conscious decision to be proactive rather than reactive. We can choose to let our principles be the basis of our actions rather than circumstances and conditions, thereby putting ourselves in a proactive mindset.

It might not seem easy by default, but we have to condition ourselves to stop being reactive.

There are various instances when we feel the need to react.
We might come across someone who does something to upset us, someone who is insensitive and inattentive to our point of view. We feel the need to raise our voice or to ‘explode’.

Or perhaps, we go about our day with the mentality of just surviving through the day without a specific aim. Whatever comes our way then, we have to react to it just so we can get through the day–even if it means going through ordeals that put a strain on our minds and draining us of all creative juice in us, even if those ordeals could have been avoided.

But the principle of ‘proactivity’ tells us that, we can be the architect of our lives. We can choose to make the first move and act rather than wait to be acted upon before we make a move.

How To Be Proactive

To be proactive, the following should be given preeminence:

Be Prepared for Whatever Comes

One of the the important steps towards proactivity is having an aim as you start your day. It is important because going into your day with specific details of how you intend to spend your day helps you prepare mentally for what to expect. Having a plan helps. Either writing it last thing before going to bed, what you intend to do the next day or writing it first thing in the morning before starting your day. Either way, you are prepared, you are taking a crucial step towards becoming proactive during your day. Once a plan is made, it is then you can make contingencies. You think about the possible ways your plan could be botched and think about the best way you could handle the situation.

This does not mean what you think might happen would definitely happen, but isn’t it better to have a ready response if it happens than having to react in a way that would not be productive to you?

This process of planning is one of the things that makes productive days.

Live a Life Based on Correct Principles

Principles are the pivot on which our lives rotate. Everyone has principles on which their lives are built. The only difference is the kind of principles each person build their life on.

To be proactive, your life has to internalize correct principles, and principles, according to Stephen R Covey are not practices that are situationally specific, neither are they values. Rather they are deep fundamental truths that have universal application. They are guidelines for himan conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value. And when we value correct principles, we have truth – a knowledge of things as they are.

That last part, I love it so much because it is key to being proactive. Correct principles show us how things really are and when we value those principles, we find it extremely easy to not be acted upon. We see the need to be in controlling of our lives since they are based on correct principles.

Be Constantly Refreshed

Taking breaks have been proven to be an excellent way to stay refreshed throughout the day. Going through your day at a stretch without taking a break might be boring and diminish productivity and brain optimisation. Taking breaks during the day helps to sort of recharge and reequip us for the rest of the day, by restoring mental awareness which sets the mood for proactivity.

You can make a beautiful plan for how you want your day to go but if you feel overwhelmed during the day, it becomes very easy to lose sight of things the way they are meant to be.

Taking meaningful breaks where we disconnect from work (or school) helps revitalise the brain and makes it easier to stick to the habit of proactivity.

Seneca said, “For love of bustle is not industry—it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind”

You need to note that these are not the only ways to be proactive, but internalising these would go a long way to establishing the right attitude towards being proactive and also make you productive.

Also worthy of note is that, to live a proactive life, these have to become a habit which means constantly living it. In no time, it would be obvious to you that being proactive helps to live the type of life we want, not what we are dealt.