Taking initiative: The first step for the rest of your life

There are people who test their friends by once stopping to take initiative and then they find that they are surrounded by people who apparently never take initiative. Incredibly painful, but also inconvenient for those "friends" because they lose a good friend that way.

So taking initiative in your life is very important, to make sure you dare to take initiative you will get helpful insights in this blog article.

What is Initiative

Taking the initiative actually means that you take the first step to start something. This could mean taking the first step to do something fun with someone you like 😉. Or meeting up with friends, or even getting something done at work that you consider important or that you think is valuable to the company you work for.

Instead of waiting for an invitation from friends or assignment from a manager, start yourself.

1. You invite friends to do something fun.
2. You carry an idea or plans for your work, possibly you have already done some exploratory work.
3. As an entrepreneur, you can take the initiative to collaborate with another entrepreneur or organize fun promotions.

In short, you take the first step.

Research also shows that successful agricultural entrepreneurs take initiative, including to form collaborations[1].

Taking initiative example

There are many examples of taking the initiative. For instance, you could send a WhatsApp message to a friend to ask if he or she would like to do something fun. If you’re really on the ball, you’ve probably already figured out “what” you want to do.

For example, you can go fishing with a friend. Go (window) shopping with a friend. Go to a movie together or attend a workshop together to learn something new.

Other ideas include:

1. Going out to dinner together.
2. Taking a fun road trip.
3. Book a city break with the 2 of you or the whole group of friends.

At work, you can share ideas in meetings, and if you've done research on opportunities for success, you can share that too. Or you can briefly speak 1-on-1 to a teammate or supervisor with your idea.

Examples include:

1. Improving customer service .
2. Making the establishment more attractive.
3. A fun promotion that can be held on social media.
4. Improving Products.

Taking initiative at work

Taking initiative at work can feel very exciting, but doing so shows commitment to the company.

Research shows that employees tend to do this especially when they’re actually overworked and start looking for a solution to make things a little easier. This often helps people transform themselves into someone who takes the lead.

This is also why it can be helpful to have a leader at work. One who is open to these types of ideas to improve processes, because ultimately everyone in the company will benefit[2].

So taking initiative at work helps not only yourself, but the whole company. In the Netherlands we are often not very hierarchically oriented, as is the case in Germany, and actually this is very good for increasing the chances of taking initiative at work[3].

Breaking down barriers

However, limiting beliefs can stand in your way. Such as the idea that it’s better not to stick your neck out, or that it won’t be rewarded anyway.

A hypnotherapist can help people who want to make a change at work but are afraid to do so. This can be important because, for example, you might want to stay at your job because of your nice coworkers, but the work itself leaves you incredibly exhausted.

Then, to stay with the company and have fun at work, there is a role for hypnotherapists and hypnocoaches.

Research shows that hypnotherapy can make people believe things that aren't even real. Even if there are people around you who indicate that you are wrong[4]. This can also be used in a positive way.

For example, if you have an environment that leads you to believe that it's best not to take initiative, hypnotherapy can make you stop caring about those people for a while, and dare to take initiative to improve your life.

Often, limiting beliefs are identified through regression, and then the memory of the event that created the limitation is addressed.

There are all kinds of techniques to remove barriers against taking initiative. For example, talking in your mind to people who were there at the time, or even to your inner child.

Which technique a hypnotherapist uses depends on the problem the memory reveals.

Taking initiative at internship

Taking initiative during an internship can feel even more exciting than when you are employed. After all, you're taking your first professional steps into the field you studied for.

The great thing is that many companies hire interns precisely because of their fresh perspective. Because an intern is not stuck in processes and ideas of the field for years, as when they hire someone who already has 10 years of experience.

And since you're an intern after all, you get to make "mistakes" and do "stupid" things. After all, you are still learning. This is precisely the period when you can take initiative and really only have something to gain.

At meetings, you can recite your ideas. Is this still too exciting? Then do it 1-on-1 with your internship supervisor. A supportive internship supervisor can make a big difference in the confidence you have to put your ideas forward[5].

Your fresh perspective will be appreciated[6].

Unfortunately, it is often a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem that prevents trainees from taking the initiative[7].

Fortunately, again, a hypnotherapist can do much to improve self-confidence and self-esteem.

Taking initiative in relationships

Taking initiative is also important in relationships. This improves the quality of relationships. It is important to keep in mind that even the core of a romantic relationship is friendship.

Therefore, it is important to not only consider sex important in a romantic relationship and take initiative for it, but also for the friendship aspect of the relationship[8]. This even helps to have more satisfaction with the sex that comes with a romantic relationship.

So whether it's a platonic friendship or improving your relationship with your romantic partner...

Taking initiative to do friendly things is important.

In many friendships there is someone who takes the initiative more often than the other, but if this difference is too great it can eventually cause the friendship to become diluted[9].

So if you are someone who finds it difficult to take initiative, know that in order to keep a friendship alive, it is important that you still take control from time to time.

Barriers people have to taking initiative in friendships are:

1. Fear of rejection.
2. Insecure attachment style.
3. Replacing friendship with technology (social media, talking to ChatGPT)[10].

In addition, mental health issues, such as depression, can also prevent you from taking the initiative in friendships[11].

To still form and maintain friendships by taking the initiative, it’s important to start by assuming that people like you and to practice more self-compassion.

This is something hypnotherapists can help people with. Sometimes you can even be super seriously ill, such as from cancer, so you don't maintain friendships for a while. Very logical at that time.

A case study shows that 1 session of hypnotherapy helped even in such a case to manage important things at home and with family and friends[12].

Just think what hypnotherapy can do if you are not seriously ill, but just want to take more initiative in your relationship(s).

Learn Hypnosis

Do you want to help people take more initiative in their lives? Then knowledge of hypnosis is incredibly useful. Come to the free masterclass for an introduction.

Or register for one of our events or trainings. There you will also get demonstrations of hypnosis techniques and get to work with them, so you can at least make people feel good.

Click here for our calendar.

Click here for our training courses.

Do you have a question about our training program? Schedule a one-on-one consultation here. This is not a therapy session, but it’s a chance to see if the program is right for you.

Also, pin this infographic as a reminder:

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