Being proactive is thoughtful controlled behavior while being reactive is immediate. For example, if you say, you are a, "Cool" person, you would be cool in any life situations, whether you lose your job or win a lottery ticket, you would be cool that is being proactive, whereas, reactive behavior is your conduct that depends on the situation, when you win a lottery ticket, you would be happy while you lose your job you would feel sad.
Examples of Proactive and Reactive Behavior
Example:Another everyday real life example, Imagine, at home, you are busy cleaning your house and a cockroach sits right your lap. You would respond in two different ways. One, you would quickly jump out, blowing away or beating the cockroach to get away from it. This is an example of reactive behavior. Otherwise, you would slowly take a deep breath, think for a moment, take a sheet of paper or stick that may be lying around, lift the cockroach gently, put it in a box and leave the cockroach in a safe place. This behavior is an example of proactive behavior. Some people are born proactive while others acquire this skill. Being proactive is harmonizing your behavior with others and situations.
Case Study-Real Life Example:- Sridhar, author of this blog, believes that food can make you become a proactive person. He has completely changed his diet, consuming only vegetarian food such vegetables, fruits, rice and dal, by completely cutting down, or consuming in residual amounts of spices and few specific food varieties such as chilli, garlic, onion, and oil and fried food. Eliminating salt completely or taking it in residual amounts also helped him to in becoming more calm and composed person. He says, "After changing my food habits, my whole life changed, I'm proactive, especially during conflicts and crisis situations. Undoubtedly, food is a natural medicine. I don't get angry so easily these days. Even when I'm with people who are angry, I'm not influenced by their behavior that I use to before changing my food habits. To become a proactive person, I took 9 years but I worked consciously and today it has become a habit, subconsciously instilled as one of my attitude".
If being proactive is not inborn it will take time to acquire this attitude as in a behavior that you are trying to change in you. That way, any new habit takes time and becoming proactive is not an exception. However, it is not impossible.
Please note that none of these two behavior is either bad or good. It is yet another set of human behavior. Classifying them as good/right or bad/wrong would be judgmental. Accepting different types of behavior will help you to build interesting interpersonal human relationships, resolve conflicts and help you to lead a harmonious life in the society.