Which 'Active' are You?

‘Reactive people allow the weather to affect them. Proactive people carry their own weather with them'. – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, pages 71-72

There’s a good Crowded House song in there. But I digress... already.

It is something which affects us all. Our choice to be proactive or reactive. We make decisions every day which are impacted by our choice to be proactive or reactive.

I don’t’ claim to be perfect in this area. I do, however, take proactive steps on a regular basis. I plan my day, the day before. I plan my week at the end of the previous week. I plan my month, a month in advance. And, of course, I plan my year. Does everything go to plan? Not always. But I have a plan!

There are numerous reasons why a person may be reactive. It may be the number of responsibilities they are juggling. Other’s priorities. A notification of an email or Facebook notification. Text messages. The environment you are in. The way you are looking at the world.

There are reasons why a person may be proactive. They have self-awareness and are conscious of the impact and consequences if they come at life from a reactive stance. They want to reduce the amount of stress, anxiety and tension they may experience should the unexpected arise. Planning assists with this. Should any manner of crisis occur or a more important priority arises, you should still be able to achieve what you set out to achieve.

Your Teams will be affected by each Team Members choice to be proactive or reactive. It can lead to a positive or negative environment for all of the Team. One day will be good, the next day not so good.

Each individual can choose the ‘active’ they want to be and there is a simple equation to explain it.

S + T = R
The stimulus/environment plus your thinking creates the response/behaviour others see.

In the working environment you generally have control of one thing. Your thinking.

What choice are you making? Proactive or reactive?