Habit 1:   Be Proactive

A unique ability that sets humans apart from animals is self-awareness and the ability to choose how we respond to any stimulus.  While conditioning can have a strong impact on our lives, we are not determined by it.  There are three widely accepted theories of determinism: genetic, psychic, and environmental.  Genetic determinism says that our nature is coded into our DNA, and that our personality traits are inherited from our grandparents.  Psychic determinism says that our upbringing determines our personal tendencies, and that emotional pain that we felt at a young age is remembered and affects the way we behave today.  Environmental determinism states that factors in our present environment are responsible for our situation, such as relatives, the national economy, etc.  These theories of determinism each assume a model in which the stimulus determines the response. 

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany.  While in the death camps, Frankl realized that he alone had the power to determine his response to the horror of the situation.  He exercised the only freedom he had in that environment by envisioning himself teaching students after his release.  He became an inspiration for others around him. He realized that in the middle of the stimulus-response model, humans have the freedom to choose. 

Animals do not have this independent will.  They respond to a stimulus like a computer responds to its program.  They are not aware of their programming and do not have the ability to change it.  The model of determinism was developed based on experiments with animals and neurotic people.  Such a model neglects our ability to choose how we will respond to stimuli. 

We can choose to be reactive to our environment.  For example, if the weather is good, we will be happy.  If the weather is bad, we will be unhappy.  If people treat us well, we will feel well; if they don't, we will feel bad and become defensive.  We also can choose to be proactive and not let our situation determine how we will feel.  Reactive behavior can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  By accepting that there is nothing we can do about our situation, we in fact become passive and do nothing.

The first habit of highly effective people is proactivity.  Proactive people are driven by values that are independent of the weather or how people treat them.  Gandhi said, "They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them."  Our response to what happened to us affects us more than what actually happened.  We can choose to use difficult situations to build our character and develop the ability to better handle such situations in the future.

Proactive people use their resourcefulness and initiative to find solutions rather than just reporting problems and waiting for other people to solve them.

Being proactive means assessing the situation and developing a positive response for it.  Organizations can be proactive rather than be at the mercy of their environment.  For example, a company operating in an industry that is experiencing a downturn can develop a plan to cut costs and actually use the downturn to increase market share.

Once we decide to be proactive, exactly where we focus our efforts becomes important.  There are many concerns in our lives, but we do not always have control over them.  One can draw a circle that represents areas of concern, and a smaller circle within the first that represents areas of control.  Proactive people focus their efforts on the things over which they have influence, and in the process often expand their area of influence.  Reactive people often focus their efforts on areas of concern over which they have no control.  Their complaining and negative energy tend to shrink their circle of influence.

In our area of concern, we may have direct control, indirect control, or no control at all.  We have direct control over problems caused by our own behavior.  We can solve these problems by changing our habits.  We have indirect control over problems related to other people's behavior.  We can solve these problems by using various methods of human influence, such as empathy, confrontation, example, and persuasion.  Many people have only a few basic methods such as fight or flight.  For problems over which we have no control, first we must recognize that we have no control, and then gracefully accept that fact and make the best of the situation.