Carolyn Behrens
the Realtor's Loan Specialist
Get Into The Habit of Being
Proactive
Steven Covey, in his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People, contends that proactivity is a key habit for business, emotional,
personal, spiritual*all kinds of success. Proactive people take responsibility
for their lives. Their behavior is a function of their decisions, not of
external conditions. Proactive people take the initiative and responsibility
for making things happen.
It is inspiring and motivating to realize the value of proactivity and the
empowerment that it creates. Covey contends that your attitudes and behaviors
flow out of your internal model of how you think the world should be. The
language you use every day reveals a lot about your image of yourself as
a proactive person. The language of reactive people absolves them from
responsibility. It stems from a model of determinism; i.e., their actions
are caused by a sequence of causes and effects that have nothing to do with
their free will. To get into the habit of thinking proactively, start by
becoming aware of your choice of words and how they affect your attitudes.
This chart will give you some valuable insight:
Reactive Language Proactive Language
| Reactive Language
|
|
Proactive Language
|
| "There's nothing I can do."
|
|
"Let's look at our
alternatives." |
| "That's just the way I
am." |
|
"I can choose a different
approach." |
| "He makes me so mad." |
|
"I control my own feelings."
|
| "They won't allow that."
|
|
"I can create an effective
presentation." |
| "I have to do that." |
|
"I will choose an appropriate
response." |
| "I can't..." |
|
"I choose..." |
| "I must..." |
|
"I prefer..." |
| "If only..." |
|
"I will..." |
With this awareness, you can
begin to change your language, your actions, and your company's success.
Toward A Mutual Win! |
