I am all over the place with a web site I am looking at.  But I must admit the site (helpfulprofessor.com) is one of the clearest on its subject matter I have ever come across.
I have been looking at proactivity.  Proactive is defined as “the ability to do things in advance of an event to ensure you have maximum control.”  At the end of the article he gives the difference between proactivity and initiative. “Initiative means starting something whereas proactivity means planning ahead for something.”
There is an extensive list of examples of proactivity but several stood out to me. 
One was “asking for advice.”  I admit I have never been shy about doing that.  I figure the best way of ensuring I do it right is to know what right is in the first place.  Who better to find out what is required then to ask the one requiring it? To me “asking for feedback” goes hand in hand with that.  I can be happy and have totally missed the brief.  Feedback gives me an idea of where I have hit the mark, and where I can improve so as to hit the mark more often.
Another example was “writing daily to-do lists.”  I do this a lot.  There are several reasons I do it, but I reckon one of the main ones is to control stress.  I find that when I write stuff down, I remember it and it avoids that vague feeling of there being something I should be doing but cannot remember.  I find if I have written it down it will be remembered, and I can avoid thinking about it until it is time for it to be done.  To me so much stress can be avoided through clarity.
Little to me is as debilitating as knowing I have a mass of tasks to be done, but not having planned a time to do them.  Doing a list can seem over the top, but it is a great boon for my mental health, being able to concentrate on one task at a time.
One of the best examples of proactivity I have seen was the guy at 3M that invented the sticky notes.  He showed initiative by inventing it and presenting it to his boss.  His boss did not see the potential and so rejected the idea.  The inventor knew the potential and was proactive by making them and sending off paperwork with these things stuck on them.  Someone high up the chain of command got one and saw the possibilities and now you and I see them all the time.
To me there are many ways to be proactive.  It is the best way to give someone else what they want and where I believe in something, am committed to it, and where I can prove it works, to also get what I am after.

Looking at motivations has led me to all sorts of what I find interesting web sites.  The one I am looking at at the moment is called HelpfulProfessor.com.  It contains pages on things like Examples of Honesty, Examples of Talents, Persistence examples and skill sets for Teachers and many others.
The one that has grabbed my attention at the moment is called “Examples of Integrity.”  I have not in the past thought a lot about what makes up these things, so I have found it really good to see things so clearly put.
A lady at work decades ago said something I have never forgotten.  She said for something to be right for one it has to be right for all.  To me I see on display attributes in leaders that I see as destructive.  Being honest is seen as a part of integrity.   Right now, I see examples of a lack of honesty in leaders and if I apply the ladies test to it the outcome is not good.
I see several leaders displaying a lack of honesty and it produces misery for millions.  If all are dishonest then to me what the world is built on comes crumbling down very fast.
For me the same applies to another listed attribute of integrity and that is “admitting mistakes.”  A lack of willingness to admit I am in the wrong puts the brakes on the potential good that can come out of bad.  To me it perpetuates grief and may protect one for a time but bring suffering to many.
I have said it before that so often someone accuses others of having their own dominant attributes. For example a people may be accused of being self-serving at a cost to others and not caring about anyone but themselves.  My problem with this is, yes the attribute is sure to be a part of another, but it may be 90% of the accusers character and in the other it may be 3%.
I will never set myself up as I am one of the flawed ones.  There is conflict within, so I seek the help of another to make the doing of good a natural thing born of another’s nature.
So while human nature is flawed, to me it is what dominates that determines the type of world I live it.  When good dominates, good prevails.  But when the baser of human nature prevails, evil stalks the land. 

I was looking into motivations and came across a web site that listed all sorts of important strengths.  All of the attributes are not necessarily in everyone, but those who display most are most likely to attract.  The list included such attributes as “Big picture thinking, realism, open mindedness, risk taking, caring, and persistence” to name a few.
While scrolling through pages of the site I came across one on courage (https://simplicable.com/talent/courage).  It gave a number of examples of courage which to me was a real eye opener.  It started by saying something similar to: “Courage is the capacity to face fear and only exists where someone heads into their fears.”
I tended to think of courage mostly as exhibiting something like displaying courage under fire or facing an enemy intent on my destruction - or running into a situation like a fire or potential drowning with seemingly little thought for my personal safety.  All of these are examples of courage, but the list included things I never imagined.
Things like “trying new things” which when I consider it, takes courage.  It is seemingly easier to maintain the current status if I am afraid of new things.  It also included “taking on responsibility.”  To me that was just something that needed doing.  Yet again when I think about it from my own experience it is like Star Trek “bravely going where no man has gone before.”   I may have a picture in my head of how things will turn out, but I can put all I know into place to guarantee success, but despite my best efforts success is not guaranteed.
To me that involves another thing on the list. “accepting accountability for failure.”  I am a big one on the buck stops here - when it does.  I am not into blaming others when something I am in charge of goes belly up.  To me extenuating circumstances may have worked against me, but if the chain stops at me then I am responsible for maintaining the chain.
The list was extensive but showed me that courage is multi-faceted.  The bottom line for me is attempting anything new is a courageous act fraught with possible pitfalls.  Compromise on anything listed is a recipe for potential disaster but adhering to something despite opposition liberates me and has the potential to liberate many.