Devin Dornbrock When you’re a kid, anything more than a week into the future feels like an eternity away. The older you get, the more quickly it feels like time slips by. Shifting from feeling like you have all the time in the world to suddenly lamenting that there aren’t more hours in the day is tough. Which is why learning to be proactive is vital.
As an adult, more and more responsibilities are going to fall on your shoulders. You’ll have to deal with taking care of yourself, paying bills, and keeping up with some sort of professional workload. You’re also the one who will have to deal with the consequences of all the decisions you make to do those things. And honestly? It probably won’t be easy. This means you’re going to have to put in the work to make your life what you want it to be.
What Can You Do Today?
The first place to start is to set a goal for yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything grandiose. There’s no need to lay out a whole life plan in a single day. Start with whatever important change or accomplishment you want to make.
For example, maybe you hate your job and want to find something better. Finding a new job is a great goal and will have a huge impact on your life.
You can also decide your goal is to travel to another country or learn to cook.
Once you’ve picked your goal, think about what you can do today to make that goal a reality. Don’t assume someone else will make your goal happen. The only safe assumption to make is that it won’t be accomplished unless you make it happen yourself. Your first step doesn’t have to be a big one. The important thing is that you’ve begun the journey at all.
In the examples I mentioned, this could be as simple as setting up some job board notification alerts to keep an eye out for new job opportunities. If you want to travel, you can start by deciding where to set aside funds. Any small actions you take today will help you build momentum toward a new future.
What Can You Do This Year?
Rome wasn’t built in a single day, and most of your goals probably can’t be accomplished in one, either. Learning to be proactive isn’t about how much you get done; it’s about making sure you’re always in the process of getting them done.
So once you’ve done what you can for the day, think about what you can do for the year, even if that is just making a tentative timeline for when you want to accomplish your goal. Personally, I find having a general timeline really helpful. Knowing when I want to get certain things done helps me know when I need to start working towards those things. Going back to the job search example, if you want a new job within the year, it’s safe to say you probably want to start getting resumes out there and applications soon.
If that isn’t helpful for you, think about what would be. Everyone is different, and our minds all work in unique ways. What is helpful for me may not be helpful for everyone.
What Can You Do In the Next Five Years?
Now, you should have an idea of what steps you want to take in the short term and the long term. The next part of learning to be proactive is to start thinking about the really long term.
Assuming you accomplish your shorter-term goals, think about the ones that will take a while. If you’re considering getting a new job, you can think about what career path you want. Even if you find a job you love, it will probably not be the one you have for the rest of your life. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person ends up having somewhere between 9 and 12 jobs over their lifetime, so I wouldn’t set my heart on finding your forever job just yet.
If you’re already happy with your job, you can think about the other things you want to accomplish in your lifetime and the preparation needed to make those things happen. Life is a long journey. There will be ups and downs and roadblocks, but having short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals will help you keep moving forward.
You are the only one who can give your life’s journey purpose. Following that purpose and working toward it can take some time. Even a whole lifetime. When you have purpose, though, you’ll notice that your journey is going to take you to so many more of the places you want to see and so many more you never thought of.
Take Your Time
No matter what you want to achieve or where you want to go, it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there. The important thing about learning to be proactive is to do what you can in the present. It’s OK to go at your own pace. What matters is that you don’t get so caught up in the obstacles that you end up getting stuck.
A lot of what I talked about revolved around jobs. They take up a huge chunk of our lives, and most of us depend on them to make a living, which is why I encourage you to put in some extra work now to find one that doesn’t make you want to tear your hair out. If you’re already stuck in a situation like that, it can feel like you’re not in a position to quit. Even if you really really want to. I promise you can, even if it takes some time. Just make sure you do it with a plan.
