Become Less Impressed & More Engaged

I heard Mathew McConaughey say this recently and it was like I had been waiting to hear this for the longest time.

For much of my life I have been way too impressed and far less engaged because of it.

Whether that was when I was too impressed with those I used to play football with (or soccer for you Americans). Or later when I was far too impressed with hippies with long hair, yogis with flexible bodies, rich people with money, travelling nomads with freedom, dancers dancing, chefs cooking, speakers speaking… or the multiple other people I could name.

Being Inspired Is Different From Being Impressed

This took me a while to fully understand, or perhaps decipher is a better way to say it.

Much of me that was impressed was actually just inspired, but hidden behind the inspiration was the judgement of the parts of myself that felt like I was not as good or could never become as good as the people I was seeing, or interacting with, so I would often become too impressed by whatever was that they were doing or saying.

I was far too impressed by their standards instead of becoming engaged in learning, growing, trying, failing and then mastering what it was that impressed me.

I was afraid to fail.

I was afraid to try.

I was afraid to even be seen.

And this caused me to become stagnant.

I recently wrote a blog about how not being in ‘flow’ can be enjoyed. And it’s true. Being less impressed and more engaged allows me to be inspired by how a person plays, how a person communicates, faciliatates, sings, dances or cooks to name but a few, but instead of feeling like they are some sort of god or goddess that is on a golden pedastool, I now try to speak to them as a human being where I ask questions and learn from them.

I give them the chance to be seen. I give them the chance to share what they love. We both win!

And I give myself the chance to learn. I even gain a teacher, a mentor and/or a friend in the meantime.

By being too impressed I lose the opportunity to all of these things, whilst living in self-doubt and judgement of not being good enough.

If someone else advised me of their options, giving these two as their outcomes, which one do you think I would advise them to take?

I started to ask myself these questions, I heard Mathew McConaughey say those magical six words and I started engaging in life more. Then something magical happened in return — life engaged me more!

Thanks Mathew!