Proactivity VS Reactivity. Conscious Decision making with examples of Estonian startup founders.

Reactivity and proactivity are interesting elements of our lives, even though we may not notice them. Practically every second, we display reactivity or proactivity. In other words, we constantly perceive something, whether it's other people, information from computers, sounds, smells, etc. When this information enters us, we have several options: to react to it or to be proactive. This is a very complex internal process that depends on thousands of factors and experiences.

We have five senses that help us receive information for further processing. These senses are vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. These are five paths, five ways, and five abilities through which information reaches each person. There are, of course, other paths, but we won't discuss them here.

What happens after we receive information? Why do some people react differently to different situations? Why do some remain completely calm while others start to move around frantically?

These are all good questions; perhaps the most profound answer lies in fear or its varieties. However, I would like to understand how this process works to grasp what happens when information reaches a person.

We can imagine that a person is like a vessel, and this vessel is filled for most people. It is filled with various types of matter, which can have different states and colors. It's like if we colored sand in different hues and poured them into layers in a vessel, and in cross-section, we could see the structure of the filled vessel.

Each group of matter with a specific color represents our thoughts, desires, emotions, past experiences, and so on. In other words, our main thoughts, desires, feelings, and experiences have their own specific matter and color.

For example, there are people who constantly feel sorry for themselves, and for such individuals, their matter may be of a brown color. There are people who rejoice in every second of their lives, who are always positive and radiate goodness and love, and for them, a matter of a yellow color would be present. There are people who enjoy discussing and evaluating others, and for them, a matter of a gray color would prevail. Alternatively, if a person has experienced betrayal from others and if they hold onto these emotions and experiences, their matter might have a greenish color, and so on.

You have probably heard that as a person thinks, so they become, or that a person's thoughts and states attract similar states and circumstances.

What you think you become, What you feel you attract, What you imagine you create. (Buddha)

So, the matter inside a person possesses a certain magnetism. It attracts similar matter. However, in a person's life, this manifests as the attraction of situations, circumstances, and experiences that correlate with the matter within them. For example, suppose a person constantly criticizes others and is fixated on these thoughts. In that case, they will often attract people and situations where they have to judge and criticize repeatedly—it works like a magnet. Many people are aware of this, and you have probably heard that successful individuals try to surround themselves with equally successful people, or leaders of different companies seek to surround themselves with people who are much smarter than they are (not only in the literal sense but also in the sense that the composition of matter in their vessel is sufficiently bright and does not contain any dark shades). Similarly, parents send their children to prestigious schools and universities to provide them with knowledge and place them in an environment that will accelerate their growth. Or, for instance, we sometimes say about someone, "They're from another planet," because the composition of matter in that person is directly opposite to ours.

There is another example that Martin Sokk (Co-Founder, CEO at Lightyear) described in his interview with Spirit X.

“To illustrate this, let's consider the rap environment in the US. Many successful rappers emerge from the same street. The reason for this is that they challenge and inspire one another, creating a sense of normalcy around their achievements. They become role models, showing that greatness is attainable. As individuals interact and challenge each other, everyone moves forward incrementally, as progress becomes the norm. Conversely, there are other groups of people who are farther removed from this environment and perceive these successful individuals as unattainable. They may impose self-imposed limitations and believe that they cannot achieve similar goals. However, if they realize that there are no glass ceilings and that these successful individuals are simply ordinary humans, they too can aspire to great things. People may have different ways of operating, expressing themselves, and learning, but most things are possible for anyone. By creating an environment where such possibilities are embraced, everyone can make progress. On the contrary, in a strict and rigid environment that restricts self-expression, learning, and failure, individuals are unlikely to move forward. Therefore, fostering an environment that encourages growth, exploration, and personal development is crucial for collective advancement.”

This is a separate extensive topic for discussion and perhaps should be presented in a different format, but for a general understanding, this will suffice.

So, we have paths through which we receive information, and we also have the composition of our vessel colored with various types of matter of specific colors.

What happens to the information when it passes through the perception pathways and ends up inside a person?

The answer is simple: information gets colored. The existing matter colors the information and is then analyzed by the mind, taking into account the tinted shade. As a result, the mind produces decisions/thoughts that settle into the vessel, replenishing and expanding the existing matter of specific colors, except in situations where information with a certain color shade undergoes certain filtration and is stripped of its shade (which is governed by consciousness).

Imagine that the information itself or external events have no inherent color, meaning that everything comes to us colorless (of course, there are numerous information streams that reach us already distorted and colored, but we won't discuss them here). The information travels through the pathways and is then colored in one or a range of colors. Whether a filter will be used to cleanse the coloring or not depends on the individual. It depends on how self-aware the person is and how strong the matter inside their vessel is.

There are many examples to describe this process of coloring. For instance, if a person has been deceived and betrayed, matter related to distrust and relationship danger will be generated within them. So, when such a person is on the threshold of new relationships, the information they receive from others will be colored in the hues of distrust and danger. However, these relationships could have been productive and beneficial for both parties.

What happens when a filter is applied?

Using the example above, even if a person has had a previous bad experience and betrayal, when new relationships emerge, the information, even if initially colored, undergoes filtration and becomes pure. With such purified information, where there are no shades or impurities, a person can work and make decisions. This does not mean that such a person will immediately engage in new relationships. It means that the information about potential relationships will not be colored by past experiences and fear. This kind of information will be clear, and it depends on the individual how they choose to use it.

There are situations when information is shaped by collective emotions and fears or when certain news/messages are widely discussed on social media (for example, when SVB Bank declared bankruptcy). In such cases, the information that reaches a person is already colored. It means that there is the fact that the bank declared bankruptcy, but there is also information from other people who write about the need to withdraw money or claim that the entire financial system is collapsing, and so on.

Here is what Ahti Heinla (Co-founder, CTO at Starship Technologies) said in his interview:

“I don't let my emotions dictate my decisions every day. I don't change my direction completely every time I experience a new emotion. So, in a sense, I am anti-reactive. I've noticed that when big news comes out, a lot of people immediately jump to calling for swift action or a complete change in direction. But I prefer to take a step back, assess the situation rationally, and then make a decision.”

From Ahti's words, we can conclude that he often employs the process of filtration. Look at what he says, "I don't let my emotions dictate my decisions every day. I don't change my direction completely every time I experience a new emotion." We can assume that when he uses his five senses, he doesn't allow them to pass through the shading of internal materials and enter the mind in a colored form. On the contrary, information undergoes filtration, and the tint fades away, leaving the information in a pure form that can be further processed. Here's what he says further: "I prefer to take a step back, assess the situation rationally, and then make a decision.”

One of the integral components of the filtration process is energy!

Without energy, this process cannot function. Without energy, a person cannot be proactive and make decisions based on pure information. By energy, we mean a person's energy, their life force. It is a high-level process that occurs within a person, and when a person is in a depleted state, lacking strength, or constantly experiencing stress, their energy will not flow upward to activate the filtration mechanism.

Here's what Janer Gorohhov (CPO & Co-Founder at Veriff) says about this in his interview with us:

“In my experience of being in a high-growth environment for six years, there have been times when I felt less tired and other times when I felt more exhausted. During periods of exhaustion, when there is a lot of sprinting to build the company, I tend to become very active and reactive in my approach. Rather than stopping to think and plan, I just want to get things done quickly and move on to the next task. This becomes a clear signal to me that I need to take some time to rest and recharge. On the other hand, when I have more energy, I prefer to take a step back, think things through and be more proactive in my approach.”

Look, Janer describes this process very well, and most importantly, he has internalized it. He explicitly states that when you lack energy, when you find yourself in a dynamic environment for a long time, you become reactive, simply lacking the energy to fuel the high-level process of information filtration. And then he says that when such a state arises, "This becomes a clear signal to me that I need to take some time to rest and recharge." During the recharge, when the body is filled with life energy, he says the following: "When I have more energy, I prefer to take a step back, think things through, and be more proactive in my approach."

Life energy is crucial for the proper functioning of our bodies. In its absence, we become reactive and unconscious individuals. We believe that this is yet another extensive topic that should be explored in the future.

This work attempted to describe the incredible importance of having two components: Consciousness and Energy, which influence people's lives. Examples of successful individuals who naturally possess internal knowledge of these fundamental elements were also provided. Consciousness and energy impact most aspects of our lives, but this work specifically discussed their influence on our proactivity, reactivity, or how we live our lives.

It is important to note that both proactive and reactive approaches to decision-making can be valuable and appropriate in different contexts. Sometimes, quick responsiveness is required to address urgent matters, while in other situations, careful planning and consideration may be necessary. The effectiveness of each approach depends on specific circumstances and a person's ability to balance active and reactive decision-making when appropriate.