Look at the word responsibility-"response-ability"-the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook (ed. Simon and Schuster, 2008) - ISBN: 9781847375179