•“Believe in yourself and stop trying to convince others” – James De La Vega

•“Never try to impress a woman, because if you do she’ll expect you to keep up the standard for the rest of your life.” – W.C. Fields

•“I’ve reached a point in life where it’s no longer necessary to try to impress. If they like me the way I am, that’s good. If they don’t, that’s too bad.” – Corazon Aquino

•“The most common trouble with advertising is that it tries too hard to impress people.” – James Randolph Adams

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
~ Will Rogers

Will Rogers said this years ago, before our culture was taken hostage by consumerism. I think this is one of the blessings of an economic downturn — people are forced to clarify talking their priorities and differentiate between needs and wants.

Letting go of impressing others is one of the keys to happiness — you have to live your authentic life, not the one others tell you to live. This is the wisdom we often achieve after years of chasing the dreams of other people. The “mid life crisis” is not actually a crisis at all, but a call to authenticity.

So how do you want to change this?

Use these tips next time you find yourself in a situation to impress others:

1. The people you want to impress, just want you to be yourself.  Ignore the comparisons and expectations you set upon yourself.  No one is judging you.  If they are, they are not the right person to have in your life.  The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.  The RIGHT people will like you for who you are and appreciate all the things you bring to their life.  Stop changing your beliefs and learn to love all the great things you can offer others.  The key is to be patient.  Sometimes you have to get through the bad to get to the right people.
2. Life isn’t a race, you have nothing to prove to others.  As the saying goes, “it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey there.”  Some people like to race through life and make a point that they reached their goal first or made it to the top first.  The truth is, your growth occurs when you’re climbing to reach your goal and not when you reach the top.  Life is not about rushing through it.  It’s meant to be enjoyed, every step of the way.  Let go of the need to do what everyone else is doing.  They are not living your life, you are.  Life is the journey that you’ve created for yourself.
3. Failure is a part of life.  We learn our greatest lessons from our failures.  Any client that I train, I tell them to expect failure on their journey.  This is not a negative thing but rather a process to find your inner strength and how to use it moving forward.  We are all a work in progress.  Our life goals never end, they continue.  If you try too hard to impress others with your perfection, you will stunt your growth.  Don’t spend all your time looking a certain way instead of living a certain way.  If you are too afraid to fail, then you are not truly living.   It doesn’t matter how many times you fail as long as your journey is about moving forward.
4. YOU are the only person that can change YOUR life.  If you are waiting around that someone else is going to make you a better, happier, healthier person, you are going to die a lonely unhappy person.  It is your responsibility that if you want to change your health situation, it is completely up to you.  Don’t let the opinions of others interfere with the reality of life.  What YOU are capable of achieving depends entirely on the path you choose for yourself.  Stop worrying about what everyone thinks.  They don’t have to wake up in  your shoes every morning, you do.  They don’t choose what you eat, you do.  They don’t choose your healthy or unhealthy habits, you do.  Keep living your truth.