We Are All Proactive Now

I think the term "proactive" should be taken off the list of buzzwords. I have heard that word so much lately I think we should just bite the bullet and make it an honorary member of our everyday lexicon.

I remember a time when the word was reserved for thinking outside the box, stepping out of the comfort zone, shifting the paradigm, or (more specifically) incompetent people trying to sound smart. Lately, though, with increasing productivity demands of the modern workplace, the word is being thrown rapid fire around every corner of the office. No longer a special case, proactiveness is now expected as an everyday proactivity. And it's become a freebie score in Buzzword Bingo.

I don't see why proactive is such a special concept anyway, it only means doing things actively. Can things be done any other way? Sure, I can be inactive or reactive or even surrealistically quasi-active, but when what you're after is good old fashioned get-r-done gumption-fueled tenacity, nothing beats being proactive.

Besides, when you think about it, proactive is really just a polite way of saying, "You know what to do, just get off your ass and do it!"

At my workplace, we are constantly reminding each other to be proactive.