The Only Person You Need To Impress In Life

Head down, and pedalling like my life depended on it, I headed straight for the plank that was supported by a stack of blocks. – In seconds from now I’d be airborne. 

Ever do something like that? You put your health, life, or maybe even good name at risk just to impress someone? And once you do, it’s met with a ‘meh,’ a short clap, and that’s it?  

When I landed the bike that day, almost breaking the frame I landed so hard, I looked over my shoulder to see that the girl I was trying to impress barely noticed what I’d done. – All that effort, the possibility of breaking bones, or the kid’s bike I was borrowing, and it was all for nothing. And it’s in those moments when you wonder why you bothered. 

It would be nice to think that we’d learn from those lessons, but we don’t. 

We still try to impress the wrong people.  We use twenty filters on that picture for Instagram, we want the world to know that we sent twenty pounds off to Ukraine, and that car in the driveway, it’s to show the world that we’re winning in life.  – All hollow victories that are either never noticed or forgotten about after five minutes.

So, what’s the point in impressing someone? – The short answer is, that there is none.

But what if there was someone you could impress that would remember what you did, congratulated you on all of your achievements, and paid attention to everything you did? – There is, and it’s you. You are the only one you should be impressing.  And here are 3 reasons why…

1 – You Know What You Want Through – Telling someone that we exercised for the last 12 weeks can never explain what it was like for those entire 84 days. Nobody wants to know that there were days when you didn’t want to do it, days when you had that horrible blister, and days when you didn’t see any progress. – It’s just condensed into a single sentence that only registers a ‘Well done, you.’  – You on the other hand knew exactly what you put yourself to get there.

2 – You’ll Remember Those Moments In Years From Now – While I didn’t get the recognition I wanted on that day with that bike jump, I can still remember how great I felt being airborne that day, even many years later. And you’ll find that will ring true for you too. – Impressing yourself by running a marathon, writing a book, or trekking across a mountain, will live with you for the rest of your life.  –  Everyone will forget those things, but they’ll always be in the mental trophy cabinet in your mind. 

3 – You’re Doing It For The Right Crowd – I’m sure when you think back to those people you tried to impress in the past, it was always the wrong crowd. It was the cool kids or the people that didn’t even care if you existed or not.  And any victory there was short-lived or made us feel that we had sold out to get their attention,  But when you focus your attention on the only person that wants the best for you, loves you, and would throw a parade in your honour, there is only one crowd you need to show off in front of. 

So, maybe the next time you’re about to do something, focus inward rather than outward. The outward crowd can ignore you, possibly give you a ‘Like’ or a grunt of recognition, or at best applaud you for five minutes. But inwardly, you’ll know what you put yourself through and those victories and achievements will live with you long after anyone else remembers what you’ve done. 

The post The Only Person You Need To Impress In Life first appeared on WriteCome.com.