Actor or Prop?

At lunch the other day, Adam was talking about something he had heard from someone else whose name I don't recall, but was pretty interesting and I'll repeat despite my lack of attribution.

Some people are naturally actors and will describe an event in terms of what they did, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Others are naturally props and will describe an event (event the same event) in terms of what happened to them outside of their control. Of course, no one is really all one way or all the other, but we generally have tendencies toward one or the other.

For example, a prop might say, "I thought we were friends and then he stole money from me. Trusting people sure can get you kicked in the head." In the same circumstances, an actor might say, "I really blew it that time. I put my trust in the wrong guy and paid the price. I'll need to keep a closer eye in the future, especially when money is involved."

Although this conversation wasn't really directed at me (there were several people at this particular lunch), it got me thinking. How often am I an actor? How often a prop? Am I comfortable with the ratio between the two? In answer to that last one, well, in a word, no. Or at least, not until now. My future will be one of acting rather than being acted upon.