Hi Paul:) I cannot talk about proactive behavior until I first understand better what "free will" is. As I see it, "free will" is the ability to transcend our previous emotional or cognitive responses when focusing upon the current situation, when deciding how the current situation is like and unlike past situations; then acting upon that new information. Within that definition, we all have a limited amount of free will, depending upon inborn capacity and the degree of stress to which we are subjected at any one moment in time. "Acting proactively" means, within that context, integrating the fact that we have limited time to achieve ends, (and that acting quickly to do so is, in the long run, far more productive than procrastinating) and that it is in our long-term self-interest to act in accordance with our deepest values, even though doing so may be harmful in the short-term. Causality is, as you or Roger note in later posts, about entities causing changes in other entities, all within their innate capacities and limitations. Since the only beings capable of integrating time into their behaviors are human beings, proactive behavior only applies to humans. Bears who eat much and then hibernate during the winter do not engage in proactive behavior, *as far as I know*. As I write this, it occurs to me that bears, beavers, and ants may have some concepts of time that motivate them. What an interesting topic for the physiological psychology of animals! Causality, as it refers to human beings, is about the way we are affected, more or less, by the happenings around us and inside of us. It includes the involuntary workings of our bodies. It includes the way we react to circumstances habitually. In also includes those times that we choose to be in full focus, knowing precisely what is happening to us to some degree, and choosing to act in accordance with our understanding of limited time or of our deepest values. best wishes, Mike Rael