Blueprint >> Be Proactive

Disclaimer: This document is in raw form as I process and distill 4 years-worth of my personal development notes. Expect some typos and cryptic language for now. I will be updating frequently and polishing up.

Prescription: Be proactive.
Related Concepts: Responsibility, Victim Energy, Constructive vs. Destructive Thinking, Law of Attraction, Strategic Thinking

What is it to Be Proactive?

The idea that you need to take full ownership of every aspect of your life and get excited about your power to improve. Never play the victim.

Why is it Important?

If you don't strive to maximize long-term control over your life, you will lose control until you paint yourself into a corner. Being a victim is a sure-fire way to be miserable and unsuccessful.

Be Proactive Videos

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Be Proactive: Key Points

Make choices based on how much they empower you. You want to maximize your control over your life. Sometimes you will face a choice between tolerating a situation or taking things into your own hands, often while incurring a temporary hit. For example, you can tolerate the financial troubles your company is facing, feeling insecure about the future of your position and paycheck, or you can make the hard choice of taking control. Control in this case might mean changing companies, or starting your own business. Choosing to tolerate something will eventually come back to bite you in the ass. Ideally avoid it altogether or do it only for a short time. Tolerating things long-term is a horrible strategy that will lead to depression, misery, development of neuroses, and ruin your chances for success.

Don't let other people or circumstances control your life if you can avoid it. Obviously you can't control everything, nor should you be an obsessive control freak, but you should take actions that maximize your long-term control over life. Aim to be in control of every part of your life that's central to your happiness: your career, your intimate relationship, your health, your social life, your family, your personal development, and your finances. The best way to control is not to dictate terms or use excessive force, but simply position yourself to have options. The worst thing in the world is leaving yourself with no options in your career, relationship, social life, health, etc. When you have no options you tend to become desperate and do stupid things.

Don't ever give up agency to another person, thinking that they will look out for you. For example, if you girlfriend says she's staying on top of her birth control, there's a tendency to want to be believe, but this will get you into big trouble. It's not that she might be lying, it's that not even she has 100% control, and in this case you have to trust her to have self-control and consistency. The same goes for putting your full trust into your attorney, business partner, clients, accountant, etc. You need to maintain an active eye on your interests. You need to stay proactive in all these situations.

References

1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey