An effective way to stop being passive is not to react to other people and situations as soon as they happen. When we immediately react to an issue, we may often respond angrily or view a situation bigger than it really is.
Instead, watch your reactivity. How do you respond to unexpected situations? The closer you watch, the more proactive and effective your response will be.

Being proactive, not reactive

Passivity is not always bad. Passive can also relate to peace, contentment, creativity, and inspiration. Great individuals throughout time emphasized stillness and reflection. 
The good form of passivity is used in intervals to take your life to the next level.

The good form of  “passive”

Anything that involves analysis can cause passive behaviour. Analysis paralysis is so common today due to the numerous sources of information available. You can spend hours analysing expert opinions instead of just doing and learning through experience. Reading expert books on how to ride a bike is not the same as getting on the bike.
Your brain will give you reason after reason why you should continue to analyse. However, listen to your intuition and ignore your intellectual impulse to have all the details figured out first.

Analysis paralysis and passivity

The reason for your passivity is probably because you are convinced that you need to be motivated before you can take action.
Being passive and uninspired is often an emotional issue that needs addressing. It usually requires you to take action and then let the motivation follow. You could attach some reward with the action you want to take to bridge the emotional gap.

Being passive as an emotional issue

The most common cause of passive behavior is being unmotivated.
It is a myth that motivation needs to come before action. More often, it is action that leads to motivation. You forced yourself to get in your workout gear and then suddenly felt ready to go. You forced yourself to meet friends and ended having a great time.
Action comes first, then motivation follows. When you feel unmotivated and passive, do something. Motivation and productivity will follow behind.

Lack of motivation leads to passive behavior

When your only goal is to make it through the week, you may feel like you spend your life going through the motions with the same tasks week in and week out. It can become very dull. Finding meaningful goals can change all of that.
Meaningful goals can be spread out across all areas of life. Find purposeful goals within the work section of your life. Volunteer for a charity or get involved in other projects. Doing so will inevitably lead you out of passive behavior.

Lack of goals lead to passivity

While we can never accurately predict the future, it is useful to consider how it might play out. Keep in mind the goals you want to achieve and the circumstances you want in life. 
From this position, focus all your attention back into the present moment. It is important to plan for the future, but don't live there because it doesn't exist. You can only work with the things in front of you. Take care of them one by one, and your life will fall into place.

Live in the present, but consider the future

Passive behavior is the sense of feeling a lack of motivation, energy, and willpower. It is often the cause of people feeling stuck at work or in their life. 
It occurs when your life situation is unhappy. You may know that you should learn how to stop being passive but are not sure how to do that.

Stuck in a state of passivity

If you want to learn how to stop being passive, first you have to explore the roots of passivity and how to overcome the negative side of it.

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