Being Proactive Rather Than Reactive

Written By Colēgia

Taking a proactive approach in your life can offer many helpful benefits. A reactive approach can also be viable in certain situations. Today we want to discuss how being proactive is often the better option.

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What is Proactivity?

Proactivity can be defined as the willingness to take action rather than reacting to something. This is important to know as it requires a specific mindset. Self-starters are usually considered proactive as they don't rely on something external to get started. Adopting this type of approach can start with simple things. For example, something as simple as keeping your room clean is a great way of taking active steps toward your life. Once we feel that the small steps are working for us, we can opt to do more assignments in school such as extra credit. This is one of the best examples of being proactive as extra credit is considered optional. Being willing to try out these new things is good as it demonstrates a genuine interest in new topics along with wanting to better oneself. All it takes is a desire to learn and improve.

“Self-starters are usually considered proactive as they don't rely on something external to get started.”

Understanding Reactivity

Reactivity involves being receptive to something happening around you and taking action as a response to it. This type of mindset is necessary as certain things can't be planned for and we will need to improvise depending on the situation. For many events though, we are able to take action beforehand which is helpful. Reactivity is not inherently a bad thing although an over-reliance on it can lead to a lack of personal effectiveness. A good instance of reactivity is when you are faced with a problem. We may not always have experience with managing certain problems which is why we need to face them when the moments arise. These can help build character along with teaching us new life skills as well. There is a time and place for both of these and understanding when to use each approach is a good thing.

“This type of mindset is necessary as certain things can't be planned for and we will need to improvise depending on the situation.”

Using These Mindsets as a Means For Personal Growth

Feeling that we have a choice in our lives is a good thing as it can empower us. Proactivity allows us to have a say in how we choose to spend our time along with seeing what we value. Both of these are good as having a genuine appreciation for what we do lets us apply gratitude in more areas. Gratitude allows us to foster other positive feelings that can help both ourselves and others. One helpful way to view these is that proactivity is a more planned form of reactivity in that it recognizes that we can use resources to help us. Taking time to look into other alternatives for common problems is a key part of proactivity as it can give us clarity and knowledge on how to do things better. Reactivity is needed to adapt to life's ever-changing needs and gives us a different form of preparation that is practical. When we are able to bring both of these together is when we can truly feel like we are in harmony with our thoughts.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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