I have been known to create words on occasion. That's the beauty of the English language. If the word you want doesn't exist, just make it up. Sometimes I pick up archaic or obscure words along the way, and get accused of making up words. My friends and families sometimes question my use of words - "it's not a real word"! I would reply with... "What is a "real" word?"
In coming up with the title for this post, I thought that Proaction was a nice opposite to Reaction. I know that proactive pairs with reactive, so figured that proaction would work in this context. After a bit of research, I am happy to say that Proaction is a "real" word.
Proaction is defined as: action that initiates change as opposed to reaction to events.
Which makes sense. When we are in reaction, we are reacting to events around us. Someone cuts us off in traffic and we react with a swear word or a fist shake. A job ad is posted in the newspaper and we react by submitting an application. We get a tickle in our throat and we react by drinking water.
Our reactions are triggered by events outside of us. Pretty simple really. Our reactions are usually conditioned habits or instinctive responses, in which choice plays a very small role. We bounce up against people and situations and live in a state of constant reaction. But it gets a bit tiring after a while. I guess my question is... is that a efficient, productive, satisfying, healthy way to live life?
What would it be like if we lived a life in proaction, instead of reaction? What would that look like? The definition of proaction would suggest that we take action which initiates change in our lives. Instead of our lives being dictated by external events, our lives would be dictated by us.
We would drink more water - not because our throats are dry or we have a tickle - but because we know that drinking water is healthy.
We wouldn't wait for a job ad to be posted, but we would do research into a business that matches our interests and skills and submit an employment proposal to them.
We wouldn't wait for life to come to us. We would go out and meet life head-on.
I realize that many of the career choices I have made have been out of reaction rather than proaction. I got a high mark on the BC Provincial Exams in geology - so went into geology, despite the fact that originally I was looking at a career in Fish & Wildlife. I went for a post-graduate degree because someone suggested it would be a good idea. I slid over into forestry because an acquaintance offered me a job. All of these decisions were made out of reaction. I was drifting with the flow of life, but not really seizing the day.
In many ways, I have abdicated responsibility for my career(s). Yes, I chose to accept those offers, but the offers were made first. I responded to an action/event. I didn't initiate it. And therein lies the rub. Do I want to continue to live my life that way? It's certainly easy... but it is also, in the long run, stressful. I have given control of my destiny to others, rather than seizing it for myself.
Part of the problem lies in in the fact that I excel in so many areas of life/skills. Others look at me, see what I am capable of and say "you would be perfect in this career". I go along with that, but the career is not really a fit for me. I am not passionate about it. I have made a decision out of reaction, not proaction.
Which leads me to this... if I am going to live my life out of proaction, I actually need to DO something. I need to "take action" to "initiate change" in my life. If I want to be a writer... then I need to write. And market my writing. And send out queries to publishers. And develop a social media profile that promotes me and my work.
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