Proacting

In the fall of 2021, the leaves falling from the trees, and the hints of cold weather in the air, I decided to clean out a drawer in my office. As I was going through some papers, I stumbled upon a plan I’d put together in 2016, that I still hadn’t completed 5 years later.

The plan was as relevant that day in 2021, as it had been when I first thought it up.

I had the plan, but no action.

There were years where I was adrift in the ocean, without any rhyme or reason, and no particular direction. I was shocked and disgusted with myself, and rather than cry about it, I decided to do something about it.

That day, I started to take action.

As I write this today, I’m still executing on the plan, almost 8 years after I first wrote it down, and I wonder to myself how much farther ahead I would be if I didn’t lose those 5 years in between.

I had the plan, but no action.

I realized I needed a new word. Something that represented the plan, with action.

Proacting.

Proacting is what I settled on. Proacting is a plan with action. Making the choice. Saying yes to some things, no to others. It’s similar, yet different from proactive as proactive is action in advance. This is having a plan, and taking action on that plan. It might not be different enough for you, and that’s OK. Simply be proactive then.

Design your future by making choices today, and acting on them.

Let’s take a step back, and figure out how this could work for you.

Where do you start? How do you get to where you want to go?

If you stop for a moment, and simply think about where you are, who you want to become, and where you want to go, you can start to take control of your life. Start to take action.

If you’re not getting what you want, or don’t have what you want, ask yourself what kind of person do you have to become, to get those things?

If the type of guy or girl you want to spend the rest of your life with has certain standards, associates with certain types of people, and appears to be attracted to a certain type of person, make the decision to become that type of person.

I’m not saying become something you’re not, become the best version of you. Also to be clear, don’t do it for them, because that’s not sustainable, do it for you. You might find that once you are the person you were meant to be, you attract all kinds of people into your life, not just that one person you thought you wanted.

By making the decision, and doing something about it, you’re not just reacting, you’re proacting.

It’s the habits you form, the discipline of execution, the goals and milestones you set.

It all makes sense that you have to become more, to have more. You have to be the best you possible to get what you want.

That’s on you, and I’m grateful that I know it now.

So have a plan. Take action. Be proactive, by proacting now.