How Proaction Leads to a Successful and Joyous Life – Part 2
June 28th, 2010 // 7:00 am @ Thomas A Owen III // No Comments
Let me share with you a story that will help us in the continued discussion of proacting vs reacting. I recently had a trip that closely resembled the movie “planes,trains and automobiles”. For those of you that have seen the movie, then you will know that the trip going and returning consisted of one after another unexpected surprise and crazy circumstance. I had flight delays, flight cancellations. I even had a ticket to a flight that didn’t even exist. I chose to rent a car to just drive home only to break down 10 miles down the road. I ended up piled up in the backseat of mid-size car for nearly 8 hours when a friend offered me a ride home. Trust me the original trip was full of opportunities to react. However, I chose to see the experience as an opportunity to exercise my proact capabilities.
I turned the day into a day of fellowship with friends as well as a chance to catch up on some work on the computer. I remember vividly sitting on the side of the road with the broken down rental car for 2 hours thinking I am going to choose to proact rather than react. In the past my temper would have gotten the best of me on this day but I just sat there giving thanks that one way or another I was going to see my beautiful wife and kids at some point as well as giving thanks that they were healthy and safe at home. I gave thanks on the side of the road that I live a life of ministry. The Lord has placed me in a place of influence and I am blessed for that. Reacting to the situation wasn’t going to get me home any quicker but by choosing to proact to the situation the day turned into a productive day and I was even more appreciative of the wife and kids when I saw them that night.
We all have stories and more importantly we all have opportunities everyday to choose how will we proact or react to those opportunities. Will we react to the challenges of life or will we choose to proact to those challenges and in turn control the outcome of our life? This principle works in your offices everyday and it awaits you when you leave the office to return home. WE NEED MORE PROACTORS AND LESS REACTORS. What will you choose to be? It takes work to create a habit or lifestyle of proaction but the benefits are endless. Take a few minutes to reflect on just the last week alone to see how many chances you had to proact rather than react. How many patients asked you “do I have to keep coming?” or “if my insurance doesn’t pay for this I can’t continue” or “how am I going to pay the overhead this month?” I know each of you will be able to recall some of the bigger moments of the week but try thinking of the really small moments you had throughout the last week. Those small moments are what life consists of the most and by the way when you pile all of those little moments together you will get the bulk of your life in return.
I appreciate the opportunity to share with you.
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