It's Not My Fault! Or Is It?
We've all heard it before, "You've got to do something with your life to get something out of it." Well, same goes for change, for improvement, and for success.
Let me ask you:
- Is it really logical to expect for something to change, if you're not doing anything to change it?
- Is it really logical to expect for improvement to happen, if you're not doing something to foster improvement?
- Is it really logical to expect success, without putting in the work?
Proactive vs. Reactive
To be proactive in one's life means to engage in behavior that devises a plan to
- avoid an already discovered issue; and
- act as a foundation for the strategy.
Proactive behavior that acts as a foundation for the strategy means, when (and if) the issue were to arise, you've already addressed such possibilities of the issue arising and have therefore, already devised a way to manage, or handle, such issue without allowing emotions to override or interfere.
To be reactive in one's life means to engage in behavior that simply reacts to the past. Many times, if you engage mostly in reactive behavior, your life will feel overwhelmed, compounded, or as if, you're being held back.
Is it others holding you back, or is it you holding you back?
I'm not Reactive! ...am I?
- Are you in a partnership where you fight about the same thing over and over and over again?
- Do you find yourself struggling with the same problem, time and time again?
- Do you feel like you're never good enough because someone complains about something you do multiple times?
- Are you in a partnership where you feel so drained with the same marry-go-round conflicts, but always accept the apology and move on?
If you answered yes to any of these, take a deep dive into what you've done to make change in your life.
Time For Change ~
We've always been told we cannot control other people's behaviors and other people cannot control you and your behaviors. So if someone is causing havoc in your life and they don't make changes to reduce such havoc, they are not being proactive. And if you continue to allow that someone to remain in your life, living reactively, you are not being proactive.
If you are finding yourself and your actions (or lack thereof) as the root to many of your arguments with your partner, and only react to their expression of frustration, you are being reactive.
If you know this or that is important to your partner, engagement in the this or that is what produces proactive behavior, you are being proactive!
Think about the world around you and how what you've done, your actions and your behaviors, has influenced what you have received.
To do better, is to be better. To be better, one must acknowledge their part in their world. It is not until then, that one can be whole; and it is not until then, that one can be successful.