Be Proactive

Be Proactive

In our recovery from the ill effects of Pentecostalism we have to relearn some things that outsiders may take for granted. One example is the recognition that we are in control of our lives and that nothing is going to happen unless we make it happen. Sometimes this is called being Proactive. Stephen Covey, in his bestselling book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” has being Proactive as the first habit.

In Pentecostalism, we often were at the mercy of control freaks who prescribed many things in our lives in varying details. We looked to the leaders sometimes for mundane decisions like what clothes to wear, how to raise our kids, how to approach careers, what careers to choose, and so forth. When we leave Pentecostalism we have to face the fact that we were fooled into this strange obedience thing and we have to understand how to take control of our lives.

Covey explains that being Proactive is recognizing that there is a space between Stimulus and Response. Animals have no choice when they have a stimulus – they just respond. Humans, however, have a great thing IN BETWEEEN stimulus and response. We have the power to CHOOSE our response. How is that for freedom? We can choose our response to a stimulus and we do not have to accept the programming of our former church leaders.

Being proactive also means that we are not primarily REACTIVE to our situations and our environment, but we are ACTIVE to the point of Choosing to be active, which is being PROACTIVE. Being proactive at work, for example, is not showing up at the office or job site waiting for the boss to tell you what to do. Being proactive is actively using our power to choose our response in trying to figure out what the best ACTIVE response is to whatever stimulus we face. We do NOT wait. We ACT. We look at the situation, and read it. We then formulate the best response we can come up with. We then may approach the boss with a complete solution to the situation for perhaps approval, or if we are already trusted by the supervisory persons, we simply act and get the job done. In the area of health, we do not wait for sickness to take us down, but we actively pursue a healthy lifestyle TAKIING RESPONSIBILITY for choosing our response to a stimulus. We perform proactive check-ups to make sure all the things are working properly. When something is not quite right with our bodies or minds, we are immediately active in trying to figure out the problem to immediately find the proper solution to any particular health problem.

We are in charge. We are responsible for our own lives. Nobody is going to make us good or great in our careers and lives except us. If we do not act, nothing will happen. If anything is screwed up in your life, you must take responsibility to fix it – in fact, fix it NOW! Get out a pen and paper, figure out the Root Cause of the problem, and formulate several possible ways to fix the problem – plan A, plan B, and plan C, and get to work on it NOW. Why? Because you are responsible for your life. From now on, if things are screwed up, it is your problem. What does this mean? It does not mean that you are necessarily responsible for bad things happening to you like falling into bad religion like Pentecostalism. What it means is that you are alone responsible to fix the problem. You had a bad stimulus – Pentecostalism, now you have the power to choose your response instead of obeying the pastor. It is your own responsibility for your recovery. Get help. Find the answers. Order books on the subject. Take a trip to the library to study Mind Control. Start a support group. Post on this board your problems you need help on.

Do it. You are in charge now and you are responsible from here on out. Make the best of it and enjoy the ride!

JP Istre