initiative

Without requiring or having been given instruction, prompting, or guidance from others; by one's own effort or energy. Few things impress employers more than implementing business solutions on your own initiative. I just think Jennifer needs to do things on her own initiative more, instead of waiting to see what her boyfriend wants to do all the time.

to activate oneself to do something even if one has not been asked to do it. The door hinges squeak because no one will take the initiative to oil them. Sometimes, in order to get things done, you have to take the initiative.

to be the first one to do something She wanted to move, to take the initiative, to give him a big hug.

Also, on one's own hook or initiative . For oneself; also, by one's own efforts, as in I've gone into business on my own account, or He called the police on his own hook, or She went job-hunting on her own initiative. The first term, first recorded in 1801, transfers the financial sense of account to one's own interest or risk. The hook variant, a colloquialism, was first recorded in 1812 and the precise analogy is unclear. The second variant, using initiative in the sense of "enterprise," was first recorded in 1858.

Begin a task or plan of action, as in The boss was on vacation when they ran out of materials, so Julie took the initiative and ordered more . This term uses initiative in the sense of "the power to originate something," a usage dating from the late 1700s.

Without prompting or direction from others; on one's own.