October 7, 2008

Act or Be Acted Upon   Act or be acted upon, says Stephen Covey.  Be proactive or be reactive. What's the difference?   Human beings who are proactive, those who act, are responsible for their own lives, says Covey.  Their behavior is a function of their decisions and not some outside conditions (such as the weather or the actions of others).  They know they have the responsibility to make things happen and do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior.   Reactive people, on the other hand, are acted upon, and are often affected by their physical and/or social environment.  If it's a sunny day, they feel sunny inside.  If it's stormy, they feel the thunder inside.  And if their friends are nice to them, well, it's a good day.  Do you know people like that?    Whether or not you are proactive or reactive will affect the success you achieve in your life.  How?   Reactive people:   Spend a lot of time putting out fires.  Can you imagine how much negative energy that takes! Live in crisis mode because they never take the time to look ahead and plan. Go where life takes them, and it probably isn't someplace they want to be. Are stressed often. Usually have to be told what to do. Are quick to blame others, circumstances, and their environment, but not themselves, for what happens to them. Feel helpless. They are slow to recognize that they have the power to choose - their attitude, their feelings, and their actions.   And that is the fundamental difference between reactive and proactive people.  Proactive people are able to say "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," according to Covey.   Proactive people also:   Plan and think ahead. Take the initiative.  (That's a great trait to have in your employees.) Have a vision, set goals, and work to achieve success. Anticipate problems and/or needs before they arise, if at all. Are great at preventive maintenance.  They don't wait till things fall apart before addressing possible concerns.  They take the necessary actions to prevent missteps, or nip it in the bud before it becomes a crisis. Are directors of their own life. Know they are responsible for choosing their attitude, their feelings, and their actions.    Reactive people are acted upon, and then complain about it.  Success is elusive.  Furthermore, they don't balance well on the Beam.  Proactive people are choosers and they are doers.  They use their energy in a positive manner and act to achieve success.   "Being proactive may be the single most important habit change that you'll ever achieve.  By being proactive you take control, you choose what your life is about.  Life is not 'happening' to you anymore," says Covey.     "The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."             SamuelJohnson   "Those who don't set goals for themselves are forever doomed to work to achieve the goals of others."             Brian Tracy   "There are two types of people who never amount to anything.  There are those who never do anything except what they are told to do.  And there are those who cannot even do what they are told to do.  The people who get ahead do the things that should be done without being told.  And they don't stop there.  They go the extra mile and do much more than is expected of them."             Napoleon Hill     Reactive:  bringing up boxes of dishes, kitchenware, and other "stuff" from the basement after three inches of water flooded our basement from the aftermath of Hurricane Ike a few weeks ago.  No, I don't live inTexas, but the rain found its way toIllinois.  It is not the first time we've gotten a bit of water, although it was the worst of times.  What it did was force us to clean up and make decisions on what was staying and what was going.  OK, that's reacting.    On the proactive side, we're meeting with the plumber to take steps to ensure this does not happen again. No more reacting in the basement!   Isn't that how life goes sometimes for us, though?  You put off being proactive until it is too late and then you're left cleaning up the mess.  You don't do what you know you should do to achieve success, and then you find yourself picking up the pieces.  You react.  Think of instances in your life, both personal and professional, when that has happened.  What can you learn from those times?   Have a fantastic week and be proactive.   Stephanie    P.S.  I am speaking at the Hispanic Dental Association Annual Meeting November 13-15, 2008 in Carefree, AZ.  The topic is all about Balance on November 15.  Please join us.    P.P.S.  Contact me to schedule a speaking engagement for your group.  2009 is just around the corner.   P.P.S.  Welcome to my new readers from Henry Schein Dental.       We grow by "word-of-email" so please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone whom you think might benefit from and enjoy it. Thanks so much! Contact Us: stephanie@7steps2abalancedlife.com