Proactive, that’s the word of the week.  Last night I posted about the perks of being proactive and I’m sure a lot of you missed that post.  Here’s your chance to go back and read it before you continue with this post.

Are you a proactive or reactive person? Do you let situations control your life? I like to think I’m a proactive person NOW but I spent many years being reactive.  That wasn’t a good place to be.  I didn’t realize this until later in life but that is when I decided to make a change.  A few years ago, it’s like a switch went off in my head and I realized I needed to change my way of thinking.  I needed to love myself so I could be truly happy.  After that, everything started to fall into place after I changed into a proactive attitude.

Here on my suggestions on how to become more proactive:

1.  Stop complaining and making excuses.  These things lower your morale and confidence and waste a lot of time.  Being proactive doesn’t always mean being the most optimistic person in the room but it is about being productive.  Complaining about a situation or person just takes up time and is a reactive behavior. A proactive person will make the best of every situation and complaining about how something is unfair, untrue, not right, etc. doesn’t exactly solve a problem or move you forward.  Making excuses for something means you aren’t moving forward because you’re making excuses for the things that didn’t get done or didn’t happen.

2. Write your goals down on paper.  This is definitely a case of seeing is believing.  It’s been said the most successful people in life write their goals down.  If you write down what you want to accomplish, it’s there in front of you.  You can see it.  You can touch it.  You can remember what the end result!  Also, writing down your goals makes them a little more permanent.  I suggest everyone write down your goals for the rest of the year and put them up in a place where you see them every day.

3. So you’ve written your goals down, now what? Make a plan and stick with the plan.  This allows you to look at all steps in achieving your goals AND plan for an obstacles that may block you along the way. You start with plan A, but you have Plan B, C, and D in place just in case something does happen that you can’t avoid.  The most important thing to remember is you want to take control of situations and not have the situations control your actions.  When you have a plan laid it, it’s easier to tackle the situations with a sound mind and head!

4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to get the answers you need. Asking questions is a big part of being proactive because you’re taking charge and finding the information you need before someone gives it to you.  Don’t wait for someone to hand you the answers, go out and find them.  Get in contact with the people who you know can help you achieve your goals and really ask the right questions.  If you don’t get the answers you need, keep asking and don’t wait for someone to come to you.  Remember, that’s reactive behavior.  It may seem like you are being pushy or impatient but you’re not.  (Handle this with moderation and not in an overzealous type of way.)

5. Be persistent.  Don’t let one closed door shut you down.  When a door closes, open a window.  That is why it’s important to make a plan so you know how to continue to be proactive.  Look for every option in a situation and keep trying, something will work out but you’ll never know unless you keep trying!

You might be asking why I’m stuck on being proactive right now? Because it’s important and I really need to be a little more proactive about some things in my life.  I hate to keep coming back to this but I want to become a triathlete; I want to do a half Ironman.  I’m not accomplishing this goal because of many reasons and pro-activity is a big reason. I’m being reactive to situation by letting my pitfalls control me.  I’m letting fear dictate my moves here.

Being proactive will make your life better and applies to all avenues of life.  Work, family, weight loss, healthy living, working out…it’s something that can be applied in all facets of life.

I want everyone to achieve their goals so I’ve decided to share my goal planning worksheet with you.  No lie, I actually use this thing.  This past weekend, Willie spent an entire car ride going through the sheets with me because I made him fill these out.  It may seem like a nonsense, but I truly do think this is a useful tool. Print it out and start achieving your goals by being proactive.  Don’t forget you can always contact me for help or guidance when filling out the sheet!