There are many ways to live life. Some people choose to follow the proactive approach rather than the passive approach. They aim to make things happen in both their personal and professional lives.
Such people start by having a positive attitude. They may then focus on the following themes.
Proactive
They are proactive, set positive goals and aim to make things happen in their personal and professional lives.
Planning Ahead
They plan ahead, clarify the strategies they want to follow and aim to make things as predictable as possible to increase the chances of getting positive results.
Positive Results
They follow their chosen strategies but also keep reading reality and do their best to achieve their desired positive results.
Imagine that you want to follow elements of this approach in your own way. Let’s explore how it may be possible to do this in both your personal and professional life.
Personal Life
Looking at your personal life, what are the areas where you are good at being proactive? What are the areas where you could be better? One approach is to focus on the following themes.
You may be proactive when
taking care of your health
You may aim to eat nutritional food and do exercise. You may schedule annual health checks and regular visits to the dentist. You may also do other things to take care of your wellbeing.
You may be proactive when
caring for your loved ones
You may aim to continually encourage them. You may aim to anticipate their needs and help them to achieve their goals. You may do other things to help them to be healthy and happy.
You may be proactive when
managing the practical tasks
You may be good at managing your finances and, if possible, aiming to have enough financial runway. You may also be good at anticipating any potentially challenging events that you may encounter in life.
You may be proactive in doing something
each day to work towards your life goals
Different people do this in different ways. One person expressed this in the following way.
“Many years ago I began to focus on my life goals. This happened after attending a workshop on career development. During the session we were invited to clarify our long-term personal and professional goals.
“Since then I have made key decisions based on how these fitted with achieving my life goals. I learned how to plan things by starting from the destination and working backwards. This is an approach I have applied in many areas of my life.
“Bearing in mind the results to achieve, I consider the strategies I can follow to give myself the best chance of success. This leads to making action plans for the next day, week, month or even for the year.
“The planning part also involves anticipating and managing unexpected events. This helps me to stay ahead of the game.”
Professional Life
Looking at your professional life, what are the areas where you are good at being proactive? What are the areas where you could be better? What can you do to continue to be proactive and shape your future?
You may be proactive regarding
managing the professional tasks
You may be good at planning ahead, focusing on the top priorities and organising your schedule. You may be good at proactively managing your key stakeholders and also taking care of your customers.
You may be proactive regarding
managing potential challenges
You may be good at looking ahead and anticipating the things that could happen in your professional life. You may then be good at rehearsing how to manage these situations successfully.
You may be proactive regarding building
on your strengths and shaping your career
You may be good at continuing: a) to build on your strengths and do satisfying work; b) to be super professional in your present role; c) to always have a back-up plan in case things change in your professional world.
People like to feel in control. They also like to make things as predictable as possible. This gives them more space to manage any unexpected events. They are then more able to thrive rather than just survive.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Imagine you want to follow elements of the proactive approach. How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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