“The need to impress others causes half the world’s woes.” —Vernon Howard
More often than we would care to admit, the desire to impress others motivates our lives. This desire to impress others impacts the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the technology we embrace, and the careers we choose.
Unfortunately, it is often elusive. Cars rust. Fashion changes. Technology advances. And the purchases that impressed your neighbor yesterday make no impression today. As a result, we live our lives with out-of-style clothes, jobs that we hate, skyrocketing personal debt, and jealousy towards our neighbor who seems to have it all… until that unquenchable desire to impress begs us to begin the cycle again.
The hard truth is we often look to impress others in all the wrong places.
Take a moment and identify the people in your life that truly impress you. What is it about their life that inspires you? Make a list. Very rarely (if ever) is it the car that they drive or the size of their home. Most often, the people that truly inspire us possess the invisible, intangible qualities that we all desire.
Consider this list of 15 Intangible, Surefire Ways to Impress Others:
1. Be Generous. Regularly give your time, energy, and money to others without expecting anything in return. The giving of your life to another is one of the most impressive things you can ever do.
2. Laugh Often. Be that person that routinely laughs at other’s jokes and stories. It concretely communicates that you enjoy life and their company. They’ll be impressed and you’ll be a more joyful person.
3. Be Optimistic. Always, always, always focus on the good aspects of people and situations. Sometimes you have to look harder than others, but you’ll always be glad you did.
4. Love Your Kids. And by love your kids, I mean genuinely like them too. Enjoy being with them, spending time with them, and investing in their lives. This love towards children will be evident in your life even when they aren’t around.
5. Be Faithful to Your Spouse. Marital fidelity is going out of style too quickly these days. Stay faithful to the one you chose. Trust me, your friends and colleagues will be impressed… not to mention your partner.
6. Develop Your Strengths. I am impressed by good singers, authors, writers, architects, speakers, CEO’s, computer programmers, mothers, and athletes (just to name a few). There is only one thing they all have in common: They discovered their strengths and developed them with great discipline. Do the same with your unique giftedness and temperament. And regardless of the profession you choose, you will impress.
7. Travel. See the world. You will change and be better because of it.
8. Appreciate Different Opinions. While there is nothing wrong with being dogmatic in your beliefs, a healthy appreciation of how others came to theirs is definitely an impressive quality.
9. Love Your Life. Don’t fall into the trap of living life like everyone else. Avoid television and consumerism. Embrace your passions and find enjoyment in your life. The people around you will be impressed… and jealous.
10. Encourage More. Living your life in competition with those around you will never impress. After all, everyone else is already doing that. Change the world by being different. Seek to encourage and lift up others. And the person who benefits the most just may be you.
11. Love Nature. People who exhibit care for the physical world around us exhibit care for all humanity.
12. Listen Intently. Eyes focused. Ears tuned. Cell phone off. In a world that can’t move fast enough, someone who can find time to listen is as rare as a precious jewel… and far more valuable.
13. Be Modest. You are special, unique, and gifted. And the less you make an effort to tell everyone that, the more they will notice.
14. Be Content. A contented life is enjoyable, desirable, and admirable. Those who don’t have it, desire it. And are impressed with those who have.
15. Don’t Live to Impress. Live to Inspire. Give up your desire to impress everyone you meet. But never give up your desire to inspire everyone you meet.
Of course, the greatest thing about this list is that you already possess everything you need to inspire others. So why not get started?
Stop trying to impress others with the things that you own and begin inspiring them by the way you live your life. (tweet that)
dilip Sen says
I will start from just now
prasad burada says
very nice articles. These can be changed any person.
Sayed Zakir Parhiz says
The point is that all have to try to be earnest and selfless to do so…
Sayed Zakir Parhiz says
That is right! The secret of happiness lies in these words!
vamsydesu says
I love it so much from today I will follow those all .
Kris says
Hi.
I don’t think that simplicity is simple or easy, because our values are complex.
I love to show people how much I care about them. If I set my table with mismatched plates, reused jars for drinking glasses, and various types of flatware that I’ve found and are very functional, I wonder if people feel welcomed.
We just bought a new couch after 25 years, because we thought people were uncomfortable on our old one.
I love to send greeting cards and use stationery that are pretty and take the ink well. Wow. Is that “shallow?” Yeah, probably.
I know these examples are easy to respond to. Hey. Other people should not pay attention to how you lay out a table or when you get a new couch. They should see the “real” you.
I guess I’m just trying to point out that it’s not simple. I set a cockeyed table, I spent money (that could have gone to a charity) on a couch, and I keep a pretty big box of pretty paper and note cards under my bed. I like me. And my friends are fine with me. But it’s a big, big continuum and I like that we all fall in different places along it.
Linda Luke says
You speak the truth so clearly. These qualities are what we should be modeling for our children and others in the world as the way to be an impressive human being.
Patti says
I have astounded and impressed my friends several times now by traveling to Europe…for one month…armed only with a single carry-on bag and my purse. “To travel happy is to travel light”….a timeless truth that can apply to any facet of one’s life.
Jayne Hearn says
This is a great, to-the-point article. I am usually a naturally happy person and happiest when I am feeling very much an individual. This article also points to some areas in my life which might mean finding some missing pieces of the happiness puzzle. Thank you.
Margo DeGange says
This is spot on! It’s better to live a life that feels totally right and is true to who you are, than to waste time trying to impress others.
When the goal is mainly to impress others, you risk realizing years later that you still don’t feel “on purpose.”
I’d rather help others, encourage others, and motivate others than impress others!
Thanks for sharing these gems!
Margo