Proactive and Reactive

Properly consult a dictionary for the meaning of the word “proactive”.

• proactive - Eijiro (dictionary)] Actions, etc. anticipatory, premeditated, anticipatory.

  • OALD (of a person or policy) controlling a situation by making things happen rather than waiting for things to happen and then reacting to them
    • Take control of the situation by taking the initiative instead of waiting for it to happen and reacting to it
  • Wiktionary Acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty
    • Acting in advance to cope with anticipated changes and difficulties
    • Usage notes
      • Some consider proactive to be a buzzword, and it is associated with business-speak. Depending on use, alternatives include active, or “show initiative” instead of “be proactive”.
      • Some consider this term a buzzword. I was a bit skeptical too, since I learned about it via a consulting friend. (See “Night and Fog” below for the source.) Well, even if that is the case, the fact that proactive and reactive are synonymous forms of the word is rather helpful for thinking.
    • Etymology
      • pro- +‎ active; originally coined 1933 by Paul Whiteley and Gerald Blankfort in a psychology paper, used in technical sense. Used in a popular context and sense (courage, perseverance) in 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning by neuropsychiatrist Viktor Emil Frankl, in the context of dealing with the Holocaust, as contrast with reactive.
      • Whiteley, Paul L.; Blankfort, Gerald (1933), “The Influence of Certain Prior Conditions Upon Learning”, Journal of Experimental Psychology (APA) 16: 843–851
      • The Japanese title “Night and Fog” ([Viktor Frankl https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A3%E3%82%AF%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%83% A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AB]), which was made famous by its use in contrast to Reactive.

• reactive

  • As a synonym for proactive
    • To act in response to a stimulus after it has been given.
    • Behind-the-scenes action
      • Not proactive.

• proactive and reactive

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