Be Proactive!

Be Proactive!
What does that mean to you?
What does it mean you should do or not do?
Why is it something you're encouraged to do?


I've been thinking a lot about the whole concept of being proactive. This has been even more so as I've been studying the book of Proverbs, and some recurrent themes there are those of Diligence, Initiative and Persistence.


Those 3 words encapsulate what it means, to be proactive, methinks.


Listen, if you desire to be successful in any endeavour: health, career, business, family, social, spiritual - you name it, you've got to make it happen. Don't just sit there wishing it'll happen to ya. You've gotta be proactive: take the initiative to do what you need to do, do it to the best of your ability (apply diligence to every act), and persist with it. You can only win when you do this!


Positive thinking is good.
Studying King Solomon's wisdom in the book of Proverbs is good.
Meditating is good.


But all of that amounts to nothing if you do not take the initiative to ACT on what you know to do. I like to tell people you can think positive until you're blue in the face (or until you get brain cramps) - if you don't back things up with APPROPRIATE ACTION, you're wasting your time cos nothing's going to happen. At least not what you'd like to have happen.


Being proactive, like the little ant, means you get the heck on with the task at hand - whether you're in the mood to do it or not, whether you feel like doing it or not. In fact, you might as well acknowledge from the beginning that you don't feel like doing a certain thing, but you're going to do it anyway because it brings you the results you want.


Don't think you can meditate your way to good health if you're not eating sensibly and exercising regularly. Every bite or sip that goes into your mouth either nourishes or kills you. There's no half way result here. Be proactive! Don't wait for someone else to come by and 'motivate you' to do what you know you gotta do. Motivate yourself! Who motivates the ant? Be proactive!


Don't think you can spend all your business hours on FaceBook or Myspace and the clients will come rushing to your door. While it may have been true in the movie 'field of dreams', in real life you don't just 'build it and they will come'. You've gotta be out there, prospecting, marketing, promoting, presenting, speaking, writing, etc. Whatever business you (think you) are in, your real business is a marketing business: having the best products or services in the world doesn't mean a thing if nobody knows about ya. You've gotta get the word out. Consistently. Be proactive!

Don't just sit there thinking your relationships will work out and endure by themselves: work on yourself! You're the only one you can work on, anyway. Don't ever think you can or should change someone else. Let them sort themselves out. (course this doesn't apply to the relationship between a parent and a child...your kids need you to guide them right.) No matter the relationship in question: personal, work, social, etc. Develop yourself so that you become the type of person who attracts the right sort of people into your life. Work on loving others genuinely, without expecting anything back. Grow as a person. Read the right types of books, seek and hang out with the right types of people, listen to the right types of material. Be proactive! Your life depends on it!

Don't think you can grow spiritually by wearing a label or answering to a certain title. It's not enough to say 'amen' to some inspiring post on someone's blog or comment. This is not the time for BS, folks. God is for real, and He's looking for people who will be real with Him and real about Him too. If you want to know the answer to the age old 'what am I here for/what is my purpose' question, if you really want your life on here to make sense and have meaning, you've gotta spend time in God's presence. Get to know your maker. Read and study His Word - it's the operation manual that came with you when you were designed. Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Obey Him. Talk about Him. Live like He says you should. Be proactive!


You want to have friends? Be proactive! Don't think friends happen by accident. Take the initiative to go out, be friendly (unconditionally). Love people, be kind to them. But you gotta go where the people are first though. Be proactive!


And with all your taking initiative, you've gotta cement your efforts by applying Diligence. I love this word. It sounds so bold, rich, regal. Love it, love its implications.


Stick with it. Keep doing the right stuff. Do it to the very best of your ability. That's what Diligence says. You only stand to gain when you apply diligence to every task.


The hand of the diligent rules
A diligent person gets to stand before people in high places
Diligence is what makes you get off your behind, take appropriate action, and actually stick to it! Diligence is an attitude that makes persistence more doable.
Be proactive!


Stick-to-it-iveness is another term for Persistence. This trait makes all the difference when combined with diligence and initiative. It's the quality that makes you not give up. It causes you to not grow weary while doing good cos you know that in due time you will surely reap a great harvest.
So go on and keep doing good in every area of your life. Be Proactive!


Let me leave you with this thought, this invitation: I invite you to D. I. P. into the waters of true, enduring, success by applying Diligence, Initiative and Persistence in other words, by being proactive!