Is it possible to have it all going for you—health, career, family, and a great personal life?
People still manage to attain success in all of these; yes, they are doing it all!
Becoming steady and successful with your goals requires a small human skill. It would help if you mastered the art of being proactive.
In Stephen Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the first habit states, ‘Be Proactive.’
Technically, no one comes into this world ready-made, and sometimes we have to grow into the lives we want to live.
Here, we will share 6 proven ways to be proactive in life. So watch it till the end.
1. Start Taking Responsibility (Small or Big)
Most people never become proactive because they haven’t set reasons to. Taking responsibility is taking actions in the right direction.
Even when things don’t seem to work out, you don’t sit back and wish them along. Proactive people make definite steps to get problems solved.
For instance, if your health status says you need to start watching your diet, it is your responsibility to ensure you only shop for and eat the right foods. A proactive person spots problems from afar and provides solutions.
2. Prioritize your Work
Not all tasks or goals are equally important to you, so they should not consume the same amount of time. It would help if you defined future-oriented and demanding goals than others and then worked towards achieving that.
When you muddle things up, you tend to get worn out and achieve little. For instance, you can set goals for each day with time limits, putting up the vital tasks before others. That way, you can stay on track and achieve more.
3. Look for all possible outcomes
Proactive people tend towards growth and always aspire to be better. Once they finish celebrating yesterday’s success, they head on to the next. If this solution is not working, they are ready to try another.
However, it’s not just solutions to problems that you focus on. The good thing about being proactive is that it lets you identify opportunities.
Being proactive allows you to weigh the pros and cons of your actions. For instance, if your boss asks you to attend an impromptu conference with them, agree—and you might build valuable connections with invitees to the meeting.
4. Don’t Stay on your head
Beautiful plans often start and end in your head, which is why you hardly ever get anything done. To be proactive, you’ll need to push those beautiful plans out of your head into reality.
Stop overthinking your plans again and again—it only wastes your time. When we devote so much time to thinking, it doesn’t mean the ideas will come out better. Sometimes, the actual work makes those ideas superb.
So, stand up and complete that task, finish that book, place those sales, write that application letter. That is the only way you are ever going to do it—by doing it!
5. Quit sitting on the sidelines
Sometimes, it feels peaceful to watch without noticing—you do your thing on a low note. But for someone who seeks to be proactive, you will need to come out and participate actively.
For example, contribute valuable suggestions during the staff conference meetings instead of just listening. Get involved in the decision-making process at home, in the office, or whatever support group you belong to. That’s another way to take responsibility and stay proactive.
Staying proactive also requires that you seek creative ways to carry out responsibilities — because that is undoubtedly going to get you noticed. A proactive person is not only efficient at work, but they are creative at it.
6 Surround yourself with proactive people
You know what they say; friends determine your strength and struggles. To keep up this ‘proactive attitude,’ it is essential to have proactive people around you.
If your friends are lazy, unmotivated, never talking about getting better, you may need to step back from those relationships. They may be fun to hang around with, but they can quench your spirit.
Choose to identify with driven, purposeful people who motivate you towards proactivity. These people could be colleagues who you aspire to become better or friends that keep a good dose of motivation on them. Overall, choose your company carefully.