Proactive vs. Preemptive

Every self-help book ever is going to encourage you to be proactive in your life. Don't wait to earn the raise, go into your boss's office and ask for it. Don't wait to meet a gifted guitar player, go looking for a teacher. So on, and so on. "Proactive" and "preemptive" both mean, effectively, "to act before something else."

Remember, however, that one of the earliest uses of "proactive" (in a 1946 book by Emil Frankl) was as a deliberate contrast to the word "reactive." He was talking about the world's response to the Holocaust; a proactive mindset could allow for positive, constructive progress and learning, whereas a reactive mindset would simply reset the cycle of hatred and violence for another round. The facts are not the subject of debate for Frankl in this case; the Nazis did indeed do horrible things to all sorts of people, but that was a given. What mattered was not the debate over the exact details but the response to the overall situation. Conspiracy theorists beware.

Now, "preemptive" is a different word entirely. This is an older word from around the 1830s, originally used as an analog to "cancel" or "prevent." To act preemptively, you must foresee a potential threat and take action to forestall or prevent its occurrence. Notice that this is very different from proactive action. To be proactive, you perceive the facts clearly and take constructive action. To be preemptive, you assess facts that you either do not have access to or are not yet facts and act in response to those instead. The Cold War was a huge mess of preemptive actions, both sides playing a huge game of misinformation poker. The point of all these other preemptions was, of course, to prevent the other side from launching a "unilateral (i.e. one-sided, i.e. preemptive) nuclear attack." In my mind, the line between "observant preemption" and paranoia is very thin and sometimes very blurry. "Preemptive" is, as luck would have it, originally an American word. Consider our current status as the self-elected World Gestapo. Preemption: not the best, in all situations.

An example: a football is suddenly thrown in your direction. A total lack of response is unhealthy, because that bugger is about to hit you in your face. The proactive response might be to catch the ball and look around for someone else to toss it to, in the spirit of having a good time. Preemptive responses might include shooting anyone who has a football for fear of their throwing it at you or, in the event of a throw, sprinting away screaming because the ball could potentially be packed with venomous insects. In our infinite universe, an infinite number of things can happen. Most of them, however, won't. There is a percent chance that my atoms and the atoms of my carpet will align for a brief instant and I will phase partially through my floor. It just isn't something I worry about, because it's unlikely in the extreme.

TL;DR There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, but the majority of them aren't actively trying to kill you, and many might actually be opportunities.