A Proactive Mindset Versus a Reactive One.
Is your mindset reactive or proactive? Let’s be clear, there is nothing inherently bad about being reactive. It has a purpose to serve and when you’re in survival mode, a reactive mindset will protect you from harm. Your brain and body react automatically when faced with a fight or flight response. So, don’t be too quick to dismiss the power of a reactive mindset.
Evolutionary Advancement =for example, when an animal encounters a predator, they instantly know that flight is the reactive option that will best serve them. For humans, your reactive self recognizes that you don’t touch hot pans on the stove because you have been burned before. It’s also important to access a range of emotions, such as anger, when we are forced to fight. Evolutionarily speaking, the amygdala is the area of your brain that triggers that reactive mode. More recently, at least in evolutionary terms, the human brain has expanded to allow for a more panoramic assessment of a situation. Your brain now has the ability to determine whether something is a major threat or not. That kind of sums up the proactive mindset. A proactive mindset signifies a more evolved human. It’s the ability to perform due diligence and vet the information that the reactive mindset feeds us. This is beyond the primitive reaction of fight or flight. This is learning to act intentionally versus impulsively.
You could also look at a proactive mindset as akin to mindfulness. The point, ultimately, is that a proactive mindset is essentially the ability to function at your optimum level. You are capable of discriminating what threats are manageable, and what responses are appropriate. The question now… is how?
We don’t see our reactive mindset as a byproduct of fear, especially when in reactive mode. However, you may recognize that you feel angry, confused or, stuck. That isn’t how we view fear, instead, these are intense emotions related to a threat or a perceived threat. Point being, the intensity of these emotions is what makes it so difficult to override them.
Bypassing Evolution =It isn’t as easy as some people might purport. Essentially, you have to override your evolutionary impulses to do so. This is the mechanism that allows you to pour all of your energy into survival when dealing with a major threat. The problem, of course, is that your body often kicks into survival mode when faced with minor threats. You’re no longer running from predators, trying to eat rather than be eaten. The tasks you face will seem more impossible the bigger your brain perceives the threat to be. When you push against that fear the sense of danger increases, which increases the difficulty in overriding your evolutionary impulses.
Have you ever worn contact lenses? The process is much different from slipping glasses on. Your finger is looming toward your eye, and there is a genuine threat. Your eye is going to try to shut to prevent damage. It’s automatic. You learn that it’s necessary to use a fingertip to pull your lower eyelid down while propping the upper lid up. You know in your head that the danger isn’t real, but your body is still fighting a perceived threat so, you have to overcome that. You move your finger slowly and deliberately as you pop the contact lens into your eye. Even though you’re prying your eye open, it still tries to shut as you get closer. Eventually, it becomes easier. Your mind becomes accustomed to this process and understands that there is no danger. You have conditioned your brain to accept this.
A proactive mindset is the same. You have to condition your brain to accept a new way of thinking. You have to put yourself in the moment and be aware of what’s going on around you in order to enhance your proactive mindset and rid yourself of the reactive one.
