Over the last few weeks, we have explored how we can cultivate persistent attitudes. We have talked about why we need to persist to capture success in any area of our lives, along with the importance of a healthy response to setbacks and failures, and last week we discussed how important it is to maintain a positive attitude as we travel the road to success.
I am reading a book called Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. This book was written as a record of a man’s experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II and delves into the psychology of the prisoners with whom he shared months upon months of horror and devastation. Mr. Frankl is a Jewish psychiatrist, and despite the terrible torture that was inflicted within the concentration camps, nobody could take away his inner freedom. In his book, Mr. Frankl says one reason he was able to survive the Nazi camps was his proactive attitude; he defines proactivity as “the freedom to choose our attitude in the circumstances of our lives.”
Many aspects of life have a certain level of difficulty. And while most of us will not experience the unbelievable level of hardship Mr. Frankl endured, we will most certainly experience challenges in our personal and professional lives.
When things get hard, persistence is the only thing that will ensure success.
When a challenge arises, resolve to focus on the solution—what can be done now—rather than on what happened or who is to blame. Decide what actions you can immediately take to resolve the situation.
In the words of Anita Baker: “I say if it’s going to be done, let’s do it. Let’s not put it in the hands of fate. Let’s not put it in the hands of someone who doesn’t know me. I know me best. Then take a breath and go ahead.”
To be proactive is to change things—in an intended direction and for the better. Proactive behavior distinguishes individuals who truly reach success from those who are bystanders and just go through the motions.
Proactive people:
• Believe anything can happen around them, but they own how they want to react to any situation.
• Focus efforts on the things they can influence and control.
Reactive people:
• Believe they are controlled by circumstances, conditions, and environment.
• Focus efforts on areas of concern around them (i.e., the shortcomings of other people or environmental circumstances).
Whatever we want or desire is within our grasp. For most of us, the success we want is not going to be just handed to us on a platter. We must be proactive and work toward our success.
Proactive people are those who take charge of their own lives and choose to control their responses to situations and circumstances. Here are five ways we can become more proactive people:
- Proactive people aren’t afraid of change. In, fact they are often the ones who drive change. Proactive people do not shy away from uncertainty.
- Being proactive necessitates a change in our thinking, which leads to a change in our actions. Often we need to get rid of our self-limiting beliefs that aren’t supporting us. If you keep thinking that becoming the #1 salesperson in the company is too hard to achieve, you’ll never do enough to win the salesperson of the year award. Subconsciously, you’ll find a way to sabotage yourself. A proactive thought looks like this: “I will become the #1 salesperson in 2014!”
- Proactive people are flexible. Understanding that the road to success will have its bumps and will require adjustments is a positive approach to managing ambiguity and constant change.
- The proactive individual believes he or she has all the resources, both internal and external, needed to be successful. In other words, a top salesperson believes he or she has all the intelligence, courage, supporting people, products, and marketing material to influence and support successful goals.
- Proactive people set goals in all areas of their lives. Goals are put in writing so they can be referred to every month, quarter, and year. By referring to written goals, we become proactive about what needs to be done and can then put the knowledge and effort forward to drive our goals to completion.
Being proactive means you understand that your life doesn’t just happen; it’s being created by you.
You’re not a victim of circumstances or of others.
You are the creator of your destiny in your career and in your life.
Highly successful people choose how they want to feel and decide how they will act in every situation. They don’t simply react to circumstances or to what other people say or do. The proactive individual focuses on solutions to problems, regardless of whether the problems have been caused by himself, herself, or others.
