Do We Act or Just React?
Posted by Tim on April 23, 2010 under Mindset | 
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A co-worker with whom you share a project calls in sick on the day both of you need to make a really important report to the client.
He’s apologizing and explaining why he wasn’t able to deliver his part. There’s still a few hours left before you need to meet the client. What would you do?
- Rile at your co-worker over the phone, and angrily complain about him to your supervisor
- Do nothing and go ahead with the report, saving face in front of the client by shifting all the blame to your co-worker
- Spend the few remaining hours doing whatever you can to complete the report
- Other:____
Nothing tests our character like an emergency or crisis, be it big or small. It’s in these moments that how we act or react becomes increasingly crucial to the outcome.
The whole spectrum of human activity can be put between the two broad bookends of action and reaction. Everything we do is practically either an action or a reaction towards something, intermittently spaced out by short or long pauses. We fluctuate between action and reaction all the time and that which makes us move from one end of the spectrum to the other is the degree of control we have of ourselves and of the situation. The more we shift towards action, the more we are in control. Conversely, the more we shift towards reaction, the more we are being controlled.
Action implies decisiveness and purpose. To act means to know what we want and to know how to get it. That level of certainty can be achieved if we clearly see the bigger picture. It’s not just a matter of determination then, it’s also a matter of perception. Being single-minded in one’s goal should not lead to being close-minded to everything else.
Reaction on the other hand is an effect that follows a cause. To react is to move reflexively. It is ruled by outside influence, by causes. It lacks the kind of decisiveness that comes with clear thought. When we react, we often do not see beyond our own desires.