Proactive vs. Reactive

Proactive people choose their behavior. Reactive people let others choose their behavior.

Proactive people take control of their own emotions, turning them into empowering beliefs. Reactive people believe others can control their emotions, giving away their emotional control and power–both empowering and dis-empowering–to others.

Proactive people direct their desires and take action towards what they want. Reactive people let other people direct them, allowing others to tell them what to do, and when to do it.

Reactive people are affected by their physical environment, rarely take responsibility, and often blame external circumstances — trying to blame-shift their own responsibility to others…. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it is not, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather. How different their lives could be if they only understood that responsibility is not about getting people to take the blame or do the work; it is about getting yourself to do the work required to take the blame and attach an empowering meaning to it. Note: when I say “blame”, I am referring to the personal blame of taking responsibility and accountability over your ability to respond to life’s stimuli/situations… in other words – when you fall down, will you stand back-up and come back stronger or you stay on the ground and let the ref count you out?

Take Responsibility for Your Circle of Concern

Blaming the economic conditions, workplace conditions, or family conditions however fad they may be — is utterly useless. It does not move us forward in life or in business. We always have the freedom to choose our reactions to stimuli, even if everything else is taken away. You do not have to be or remain a reactive machine. Instead, you can become a proactive person. Decide on the former, and you are screwed for life. Decide on the latter, and you are set for life triumphs.