How was 2020 for you?

No, you have not read that wrong, nor have you done a Sleeping Beauty and slept throughout the entire year. 

A new year has begun, and a new decade.

 

(unless you are a pedant like MB who believes the new decade only starts at the END of this year. Don’t get him started)

And the chances are you have resumed normal activities by now: work, normal routines, perhaps school starts and finishes and homework, classes and hobbies, trying to eat a little more healthily and drink a little less. Humpf.

But it may also be the case that in resuming normal services, subconsciously you have also resumed reactive living. 

What do I mean by that? 

Reactive living is when we react to what is happening to us and around us. We let our conditions and circumstances dictate our decisions, how we spend our time, and often, who we feel. As this article summarises, 

…reactive people don’t act: they are acted upon.

That often leads to us feeling that life and time control us, that we are back on the conveyor belt and time is whistling past at a frightening speed. Our best intentions and desires to live differently this year for once slide down the slippery slope after oh-so-many other new year’s resolutions. The end result – we live lives on the autopilot of reactive living as this is the default position, as outlined here. 

How true is this for you? How has this year started for you – this week, does it feel like you are already trying to play catch up? That your decision making is largely a reaction to what is happening to you? If we live 2020 reactively, chances are we will get to the end of the year in a bit of a heap, having been consumed by urgent tasks and external demands and without having spent time on our own development and growth. 

So what to do? Can I propose a different way to start the year? That involves my favourite word….

Choose to live a proactive life 

Imagine instead that you are at the END of 2020, and say to yourself: 

That was a good year.”

What will have had to have happened? 

What will the year be characterised by?

Be very honest with yourself, as you consider your character, growth areas and relationships and consider: If one key thing about you is to change for the better this year, what would that be?

How would you answer those questions?

2020 has begun. What sort of year do you want it to be? Of course, there is much that is outwith our control. But there is much that you CAN take control of, and that starts with living a proactive life.

Taking responsibility for yourself and your thoughts, beliefs, choices and behaviour is a key aspect of being proactive. 

Give yourself a gift this week by taking some time to work backwards from the end of the year that you want, and making choices now about how you use your time, energy, and emotions.

For more on being proactive, see this blog post as part of the series on Seven Habits of highly effective people.

And for help with becoming more proactive, get in touch to arrange your free coaching taster session. We can do this together!