7 Skills for Right Now: Proactivity
In the penultimate article of the “7 Skills for Right Now” series, Emma Sue Prince examines how being proactive – placing your energy only onto what you have control over – can immediately help us feel better as we move towards solutions and even start to influence what we cannot control.
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Week 6: Proactivity
Perhaps it has never been more vital to be proactive. But just how do you do that in the middle of a pandemic? So much of what is happening is outside our control that it may sometimes feel like the very best thing to do is sit back and wait for things to get better and somehow muddle through.
Actually what we need to be doing is driving our energy into being proactive – that means focusing on what we can control and being sufficiently motivated to keep moving forward positively. Yet when we are surrounded by constant uncertainty and finding things difficult, what we tend to do is place our energy right onto the very things that we cannot control. We feel compelled to do this because we like being in control – whether by talking about it, posting about it, thinking about it, dwelling on it and worrying about it. This is natural and we (almost) cannot help ourselves.
While we may not wish to acknowledge it, uncertainty is a natural and unavoidable part of life. Very little about our lives is constant or totally certain, and while we have control over many things, we can’t control everything that happens to us. As the coronavirus outbreak has shown, life can change very quickly and very unpredictably.
To cope with all this uncertainty, we spend energy worrying. This makes us feel like we have some control over uncertain circumstances. We believe that it will help us find a solution to our problems or prepare us for the worst. Maybe if we just agonize over a problem long enough, just think through every possibility, or read every opinion online, we’ll find a solution and be able to control the outcome. Unfortunately, none of this works. Being proactive and instead, focusing on what you CAN control – does work! We also know that being proactive is strongly linked to two other vital skills: OPTIMISM and RESILIENCE (our last article of the series that will publish next week).
So what is within your control in the middle of a pandemic? Lots of things.
It’s easy to feel we are powerless but allowing that to take hold only feeds into stress levels and feeling worse. The very best thing you can do is to focus on being proactive every day. Here’s how:
Deal with emotions – when circumstances are out of your control, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by fear and negative emotions. You may think that bottling up how you feel, trying to put on a brave face, or forcing yourself to be positive will provide the best outcome. No! We need to acknowledge emotions and give ourselves space to process change. Journaling is great for this as is walking and being out in nature.
Take action – taking action helps you move towards acceptance and helps you to not feel completely powerless. It also means dealing head-on with our natural urge to want to avoid things and not actually get on with things that need dealing with. It’s all about refocusing the mind on taking action over the aspects that are within your control. For example, if you’re feeling overwhelmed and isolated learning and studying online, you can look for support, make sure you’re prepared for online formats and platforms and reach out to others. This is a great exercise to do with fellow students too: stating the issue or problem and working out together all the things that are within our control.
Identify uncertainty triggers – a lot of uncertainty tends to be self-generated, through excessive worrying or a pessimistic outlook, for example. However, some uncertainty can be generated by external sources, especially at times like this. Reading media stories that focus on worst-case scenarios, spending time on social media amid rumours and half-truths, or simply communicating with anxious friends and colleagues can all fuel our own fears and uncertainties.
Manage your triggers – once you’ve identified them, the next step is to manage them. That means creating your own boundaries through setting up better smartphone notifications, deciding when and how you will consume news and other information and creating an environment that prioritises your wellbeing. Even better, replace triggers with positive, informative and inspiring podcasts, talks and articles. Chat with friends about helpful ways to manage uncertainty and stress triggers.
Reflect more – on your responses, how you feel, how a day went, how a meeting went – get better at assessing situations accurately. This is one of the hallmarks of optimism and helps you to better separate emotions from facts. Yet we don’t spend nearly enough time reflecting or even giving ourselves that space to reflect. That’s why journaling is so very helpful. Probably one of the best things you could be doing right now is make the time to journal – considering these types of questions.
Move – physical movement every single day helps with moving yourself mentally and emotionally too. Try to get as much physical movement as possible into your life (perhaps try walking during online tutorials?). Yoga, walking, being outside, stretching and any kind of movement also encourages stronger body-mind connection and builds awareness.
Cultivate presence – one thing that is within our control every single second of every single day is breathing. Yet we don’t do it well and we underestimate its huge positive benefit. Get into the habit of strong, deep breathing and regular mindfulness practice. It calms your parasympathetic system and means you are always responding from a calmer place and brining your attention and focus back to the present moment.
Have a great morning routine – yes, linked with optimism but a really lovely proactive habit to encourage. This has to mean a stronger focus on wellbeing, setting intentions, hydration and nutrition, movement and reflection BEFORE heading out into the stressors of the day. A strong morning routine is like your steel armor setting you up for the day and something entirely within your control.
Whatever it is, begin it – we are all prone to procrastination and possibly even more so at the moment. Yet if you can just take the first step towards what is in front of you – whether that’s a big project, learning new skills, prioritizing wellbeing or getting to grips with technology, if you can just take that first smallest step: doing some research, reaching out for support, finding that online yoga class, planning an initial outline, you a) immediately feel better and b) are much more likely to take that next step.
Catch up with the series:
About the author
Emma Sue Prince is the author of ‘7 Skills for the Future’ and lead contributor to Pearson’s Online Learning Units, and also is a soft skills and employability expert who provides training, workshops and resources via her role as Director of Unimenta.
This content has been created by the author in their personal capacity. Any views, thoughts and opinions expressed belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Pearson.