There are basically two approaches to life: active and passive. Those that are active in living their life are typically described as go getters; they are goal-driven, social, and truly make the most out of their lives.
Those that choose the more passive approach have a tendency to watch their lives pass them by; they tend to stagnate in life and become complacent, merely go through the motions of their routine, and watch as their lives go by.
The good and bad news is that you’re not stuck with the one you are now. At any point, you could become complacent and turn into a watcher, but, likewise, you could work at it and become a go getter. Through this article, you will learn how to identify your approach to life, how that information affects you, and how you can change it.
Identify If You are a Go Getter or a Watcher
While the identification of your approach to life isn’t black and white, we’ve picked out some signifying qualities that can apply to either the active or the passive approach to help you identify which you are. It’s important to note, however, that you might have qualities for both, as there are some gray areas.
Go Getter (Active)
If you’re a go getter, you’re driven to achieve your dreams. You don’t pass up the opportunity for a new experience or adventure; you make the most out of your life. You strive to learn and better yourself as much as possible, always growing.
Watcher (Passive)
If you prefer to be a watcher rather than a doer, you tend to keep the same routine, don’t see much point in ruffling feathers, and you have a tendency to shy away from new adventures and experiences. You tend to be passive in most areas of your life: professional, personal, and even romantic.
What Does This Mean?
Being a spectator in your own life can cause you to miss out on experiences, professional opportunities, and life’s important moments. When you’re passive with professional opportunities, you end up missing out on the chance to advance in your career.
When you avoid new adventures and new experiences, you not only miss out on life experiences, you miss out on time with friends and loved ones.
When you’re active in your life, you seize opportunities that help you advance in your career and personal life. An active approach to life can lead to an increase in your positivity, as well, which will typically lead to an improvement in your productivity and overall quality of work. If you find that you’re living your life passively and want to change to be more active, it’s possible.
How Can You Change Your Approach?
Thankfully, you’re not just stuck with your approach; you can change small habits in your life to make you a go getter. We’ll walk you through a few of them in the sections that follow.
Learn Something New Every Day
A great way to fight the watcher tendency in you and fight stagnation is to strive to learn something new every day. Whether it’s through a course at the community college, a free lecture, or merely browsing on Google, learning a new skill or valuable information can help keep you active and growing in life.
Mix Up the Routine
Breaking up the monotonous routine can help you break free from your habits as a water and make you more active in life. While not all routines are bad, breaking up the monotony by taking advantage of the opportunity of new adventures or experiences. This can help you be more of a go getter by seizing opportunities for new challenges, experiences, and/or adventures.
Live with Purpose
Few things in life are stronger than the power of your thinking and outlook. Make it a point to take new adventures, enjoy new experiences, and jump on new opportunities intentionally and with purpose This change in your mindset can trickle into your overall outlook on life and become habit. The first step in having an active approach to life is intentionally living your life with a drive to achieve your goals and enjoy life’s many experiences.
Should You Work to Change Your Approach
As we mentioned before, there are some gray areas in the designation of go getter and watcher. You may have found yourself a happy medium between the two, meaning you’re a go getter when you need to be, not missing out on any good opportunities, but still appreciate a little routine, stability, and minor complacency without stagnation.
