Proactivity has been a much-used word in the past couple of decades. But it is more than a buzzword. To be proactive is to do the things you need to do to control your life rather than letting events control you.
Too many of us are figurative firefighters (FFFs). While I am thankful for the real firefighters, who put their lives on the line to help other people, FFFs spend their lives putting out fires that do not involve life and death. Like real fire fighters, the fires they fight often are due to carelessness; unlike those fighting real fires, the fires are often of their own making. The FFF does not have time to control life—life is a roller coaster of one pseudo-emergency after another, rushing to do whatever is most urgent. FFF’s use crisis management as their life strategy.
