The word proactive was originally coined by the psychiatrist Victor Frankl in his 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning to describe a person who took responsibility for his or her life, rather than looking for causes in outside circumstances or other people. Much of this theory was formed in Nazi concentration camps where Frankl lost his wife, mother, father and family, but decided that even under the worst circumstances, people can make and find meaning.
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary the word's origin is from the 1930's. Merriam Webster lists the date as 1933.[1]
The term was popularized in the business press in Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Though he used the word in Frankl's original sense, the word has come to mean "to act before a situation becomes a source of confrontation or crisis" vs. after the fact. It is frequently contrasted in opposition to the words "reactive" or "passive." Use as a contrast to reactive was introduced into the DoD vernacular in 1982 in the context of program risk assessment. Being a buzzword, the term proactive is ubiquitous but has indeterminate meaning.
In behavioral medicine, proactive often refers to a treatment approach where a therapist initiates contacts as opposed to reactive where the responsibility for contacts with the therapist is entirely on the client e.g. proactive and reactive quitlines for tobacco or alcohol.
active, lively, quick movement, busy