Do you remember Howard Wolowitz of the famous sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’? Then you must remember how he always tried to impress others. Often, he put in so much effort that people thought him to be a ‘creep.’ He even got Mars Rover stuck in a crater trying to impress a girl! If you also have that tendency, you must find some Ways to Stop Trying to Impress Others.
Why do we frequently give in to the need to impress others, especially those oblivious to our existence? Searching should not go too far. One of these people may be your friend, neighbor, classmate, work colleague, & the list goes on.
School achievements rarely shield you from this. Neither do our jobs, religions, nationalities, sexes, or socioeconomic status. This urge plagues us & continues to ruin many people’s lives.
Stop Putting Too Much Effort Trying To Impress Others
1. Know It’s Not Possible To Control Other’s Opinions
First & foremost, ask yourself if you are doing everything possible to ensure the happiness of those around you: Does it guarantee they won’t have second thoughts? Knowing that others are easily influenced & judgmental could hurt. Your supervisor might perceive your 120% as being underwhelming.
Given that your parents attended Harvard, applying to Penn might not be enough to earn you their approval. On the other hand, the design you came up with in just five minutes can seem like a lifesaver to a classmate. Your sister could appreciate some words of support. Humans are adaptable. They change.
The pointless & unproductive task of Sisyphus is to try to please and impress everyone. Accepting that we cannot change other people’s opinions, we should focus on what we can control, such as the time & effort we put into our jobs. You’ll feel much more liberated if you leave the rest alone.
2. Know Who Values You & Who Don’t
Knowing people who value you & who don’t is one of the excellent Ways to Stop Trying to Impress Others. Your best friend, family, and partner who always valued you don’t need you to go the extra mile to impress them as they already know your worth & your role in their lives.
On the other hand, your neighbor, your boss, your colleague, or your crush, in short, people who are just aware of your name & nothing else, will never be impressed if you even move the mountains! Most importantly, you don’t need to.
Your neighbor has got their own family & friends; your boss has many employees under them, and your crush may even be unaware of your feelings! It is a waste of energy trying to impress them.
3. Discover Your True Identity
Saying this is simpler than doing it. We used to bumble around, verbatim, taking our folks’ counsel. Because “it would be good for us,” However, we have grown up. We used to have the weak defense that “we don’t know as much as the adults” when we were younger.
We are now adults who are in charge of making our own decisions. The activities we like doing are entirely up to us. Spend it wisely. Profit from this opportunity to find your interests.
Try even if you’re clueless. Discover new things. Try old hobbies again. By slowly experimenting with many things, you can discover who you are.
4. Find Out The Reasons Behind That Tendency
To know Why You Should Stop Trying to Impress Others, you must find your reasons behind that tendency. The need to belong & be accepted often dominates people’s actions and behavior. They decide to brag & try to impress others to fit in with the group they choose socially.
Others are motivated to keep attempting to impress people because they are successful, intelligent, gorgeous, or charming when others look at them.
Others, on the other hand, lack the confidence to be themselves in front of others. Instead, they portray a self-image that they hope would be impressive & likable.
However, you might be attempting to impress others for various reasons, so it’s essential to consider what exactly is appealing to you about this behavior. Think about what you enjoy most & how trying too hard to impress people affects your life.
5. Address The Issue
Now that you know why you are acting in this manner, you can work to alter your behavior. For instance, if your behaviors are motivated by a lack of confidence or uncertainty, you might start concentrating on how to regain your confidence.
Or, if you enjoy the rush of being admired & looked up to by others, you can find a respectable way to support & assist others, possibly in a mentoring capacity.
In terms of our emotional & psychological makeup, humans are incredibly complex. Nobody acts precisely the same way or for the same reasons as another person.
In truth, you might sometimes work in different ways for different reasons. Your behavior might be driven by insecurity one time, but the next time it might be caused by a need for approval.
Keep an open mind throughout this time & only realize why you are acting how you are to have the best chance of succeeding. Accept it as it is without assigning it a positive or negative rating. You then have the option to act differently.
6. Lead & Guide The Conversation
One of the Ways to Stop Trying to Impress Others is leading & guiding the conversation. You must always be alert & prepared to steer talks with other people away from subjects that denigrate or put pressure on you & towards those about which you are passionate.
Speak up & offer an icebreaker or proposal when the conversation starts to veer off topic and move to meaningless praises & jabs at individuals outside the group. Here, courage & vigilance are crucial.
7. Share Your Thoughts About Development
The secret is to avoid constantly talking about “stuff” & instead center your conversations on ideas for personal development. Talk to you about how you are trying to cut back on excessive spending or things like that.
Reading quality books in growth-oriented fields to ensure that this was effective & that one always has something to give. Your self-esteem grows as a result, & you become more willing to break old patterns of trying always to impress people. The long-term benefit comes through focused, specialized study.
8. Work On Your Confidence
To know how and why You Should Stop Trying to Impress Others, work on developing your confidence. The urge to impress everyone or people-pleasing tendencies directly result from low confidence. Take proper measures to boost your confidence to get rid of that tendency.
Once you have developed your confidence, you will find you are least bothered about whether or not someone is getting impressed by you.
Though impressing superiors in professional life is crucial, let your performance, hard work & dedication speak for you. You don’t need to bother about impressing the owner of the diner.
Why You Should Stop Trying To Impress Others
We are taught at a young age that we must provide a positive first impression in order to succeed in life. Positive introductions or other efforts to stand out from the crowd can be advantageous.
We might even put a lot of effort into demonstrating our unique abilities & intelligence. However, when it exceeds what is healthy, we are not only caving into external pressures but also ignoring our own individual potential.
The internal strain of feeling like we have something to prove is exacerbated by our desire always to impress, and it is physically & emotionally exhausting.
Instead of continually controlling how we want to be perceived by others, it would be liberating if we accepted our uniqueness every day & find Ways to Stop Trying to Impress Others. Here are some reasons why we should stop trying to impress people:
- It is time-consuming.
- It will not bring true satisfaction.
- Instead, focusing on yourself is more fruitful.
- It won’t help you to find the true purpose of life.
- It will affect your confidence.
- It will hamper your authenticity.
- It may cause envy & jealousy.
- It will not let you be honest with yourself & others.
FAQs
Q: Are trying to impress others & people-pleasing tendencies the same?
A: Though definitions may vary, they both go hand in hand.
Q: Do people see attempting to impress everyone in a negative light?
A: Often, others consider people with that tendency as weak, personality-less, people with no confidence & opinion.
Q: My boss likes people with people-pleasing tendencies. What to do?
A: If your boss prefers people-pleasers over hard workers, that is a definition of a bad boss & bad organization.
