When I left the corporate world to pursue a writing career, I vowed to leave behind the corporate lingo. Catchwords like “proactive” annoyed me. What was the difference in active and proactive? Wasn’t proactive redundant?
Language changes with usage, however. We now hear the term daily, especially in political speeches. Finally I get it. There is a difference in active and proactive.
Active (as opposed to static or idle) means taking action or in a state of movement. But there are two types of action one can take–reactive and proactive. I learned this from my experiences a couple of years ago after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My oncologist explained that there were two treatment regimens: proactive and reactive. Reactive meant chasing the disease and trying to get ahead of it, as in advanced cancer. Proactive meant preventative treatment to keep cancer removed via surgery from returning. She further explained how proactive was easier than reactive treatment. Preventative medicine isn’t as difficult as remedial.
Fortunately we could be proactive in my treatment. I learned proactive isn’t a redundant form of active. So the next time you hear a public official speaking of proactive or reactive policy, substitute the words preventative or remedial and it will make more sense.
Tags: active, proactive, reactive, redundancies
