Learning how to lead a pro-active, intentional life is key for better life management.

Living proactively rather than reactively can be a fundamental shift for some people. To become pro-active, you must learn to make things happen rather than reacting when things happen to you. Using a pro-active approach to life, you decide what goal or outcome you desire and then take steps to reach your goal.

Leading an intentional life involves learning to think about possible consequences before acting. The person who lives with intention thinks to bring along bug spray when taking a walk in the woods. A person that lives in fast forward swats mosquitoes as they bite.

Becoming more proactive

Some of us have lived in reactive mode most of our lives – waiting for events or other people to dictate what we do next. At times, planning, decision-making, and setting priorities may be difficult. When you don’t know what to do next and can’t decide what’s most important, then you’re likely to spend your days “putting out fires,” responding to the latest crisis or to a demand from someone else.

If you’re tired of living like that and ready to take charge of your life, you can learn to set goals and, step-by-step, every day, come closer to meeting them.

1. Start small. Don’t try to change too many things, all at once.

2. Don’t set yourself up for failure - choose a daily goal that’s important but not overly difficult. For example, if you want to get control over daily spending, you might set a goal of taking your lunch to work or school – allowing you to save $5.00 each day. Put this task (make lunch) on your task list.

3. Schedule your task. Set this goal as a recurring daily task, and place it on your schedule.

4. Daily planning session. During your daily planning session, review your progress in developing your new habit.

5. Problem-solve if you’re not making consistent progress in developing your new habit. For example, if you find you’re too tired to make your lunch late in the evening, schedule the task for an earlier time when you’re less tired. Or, think of some ready-made, pre-packaged lunch that you can take to work once a week and leave in the refrigerator.

6. Build on your success. Once you’ve developed your new habit – making your lunch, taking your walk, etc. – you’re on your way to leading a more intentional, proactive life. Your first success will help you have more confidence when you tackle your next “intention”.

7. Once this new habit is established, add a new step toward achieving that goal. For example, set a reasonable weekly spending money allowance. Then schedule a recurring weekly task to withdraw this sum of money from your account. Set a goal of never spending more than your allowance on incidentals during the week. Review your progress during your Daily Planning Session.