Are you proactive? Why you should be.

 

What does proactive mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, being proactive means “acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes”.

Being proactive means thinking about the future and focusing on the things you can control instead of all those you cannot.

It also means taking responsibility for your actions.

Are you a reactive person or a proactive person?

How do you deal with day-to-day issues or a crisis?

There are two types of responses, reactive, and proactive.

Are you the type of person who waits for something to go wrong before acting? Then you’re a reactive person?

People who are proactive think ahead and make improvements even when things are going well.

Reactive people are more stressed.

Proactive people are prepared for what live throws at them.

Reactive people put band-aids on problems and never fix underlying causes. When they make mistakes, they will make excuses, blame everyone but themselves, and seldom learn from mistakes.

Proactive people react to the smallest signs of trouble and use feedback to make lasting changes. When they make mistakes, they own up to it, correct it and look at mistakes as a learning opportunity.

Reactive people in relationships take out their frustrations on others and can’t or won’t communicate their feelings. Their idea to fix a problem? If you ignore it long enough, it will go away.

Proactive people in relationships, won’t throw you under the rug. They let you know their feelings and needs. How do they fix a problem? They talk about the problem and actively work on solving it.

Reactive people only go to a doctor when they can’t stand the pain anymore. (This can be fatal, so don’t do that.)

Proactive people take care of themselves. They eat healthy, have some type of physical activity in their daily life and get regular health checkups.

Reactive people have more car problems. They drive their cars until it breaks and then get it fixed. This can be very expensive and, in some cases, dangerous. (Think of a worn-out tire blowing out at 70mph.)

Proactive people perform regular scheduled maintenance on their cars and when they do have issues, it’s mostly minor and cost them less money.

Reactive people usually have poor habits and take things as they happen.

Proactive people make good habits and realize that a stress-free life comes from the things they do every day.

If you’re not sure what type of person you are, the Clockify Blog, list these additional questions to ask yourself that can help you figure it out:

1.     Do you have any kind of long-term plan?

2.    Do you take an active or passive role at work and in life?

3.    Do you make decisions only when you absolutely have to?

4.    Do you think about the future and anticipate possible outcomes, or do you have a more live-in-the-moment approach?

5.    Do you feel like life is just happening to you and you’re not playing an active role in it?

Clearly, being proactive is the better option.

Now, the question is...

How can you become more proactive?

Leon Ho from Lifehack, writes, start influencing your own environment... instead of being influenced by it. Here is how he suggest you do that.

First, long-term thinking. Think about your life one year ahead, or two years ahead, or more.

For that matter, start looking at one week, one month or six months ahead.

Ask yourself... where I do want to be?

What do I want to accomplish?

And then reverse engineer your goals to come up with steps you should take to achieve them.

Act on those thoughts.

That's being proactive.

Planning and execution.

Planning is nothing without execution. While planning is important, execution is key to preventing future problems. By acting before issues arise, you're better able to adjust when they do come up. This leads to long lasting solutions and less stress.

Second, be open to other people's feedback and perspectives.

If you listen to people you trust, you'll be able to see issues from different angles.

You'll be more likely to see the potential outcomes and prevent future problems.

Again, you'll need to act on your predictions.

That's what being proactive means.

What is a proactive mindset and how to achieve it?

Author Dunja Jovanovic wrote on her Clockify Blog, proactive mindset starts with realizing that you’re not a product of your circumstances, but your decisions.

One of the most important characteristics of a proactive mindset is focusing on things that are in your control.  You can’t control the weather, but if it's snowing and cold, you will probably wear a heavy coat and not shorts and a tee shirt.

Sometimes things that happen to us aren’t our fault, but how we respond to issues and deal with others are always our responsibility, and proactive people realize that.

The proactive mindset is often linked with the growth mindset.

If you have a growth mindset, you don’t give up when you face a challenge, you persist. You don’t see failures as a bad thing, but the opportunity to grow. 

You are inspired by the success of others instead of being envious. 

Your goal is for continuous growth and improvement for yourself and others.

Are you open to change?

Proactive people are. They are also not afraid to make positive changes. They take the bull by the horns and make things happen instead of waiting for everything to just appear in front of them.

They are responsible for themselves and their actions. They respond to upsetting or stressful situations with well thought out actions, instead of reacting emotionally.

Why you can’t always be proactive.

Keep in mind that you can’t plan and predict everything, sometimes things just happen.

Your plans may need to be altered due to circumstances or an obstacle that you couldn’t envision when setting your goals.

Life is unpredictable and sometimes it will force you to be reactive. You know what? That’s okay. You can still deal with those issues in a proactive manner.

Conclusion

Proactive people have the right mindset. They plan for what they want and take action to get what they want. They are the ones who seem to have their life completely together. They are successful at work, have a great personal life and seem to be prepared for everything.  

You can be one of those people too: it’s not a magical superpower only a select few get. Changing a mindset may seem difficult at first, but you can do it.