We all matter. We are all important; each and every one of us. The thinking that people don’t notice others, because they are only interested in themselves, is just not true. This is a falsehood. We are all looking for information and, if possible, inspiration from others. We are hardwired to be social animals. What we do and say matters. One of the things we often hear is that, at a certain age, some of us start to feel invisible. I propose that we categorize this in the feelings-are-not-facts column. Because no matter how we may feel about it, we are all seen. Each of us, except for the occasional hermit out there, exists within a society where our fellow peeps interact with us. We are having an impact out there whether we intend to or not. We all have influence. We have the power to positively influence people around us, if only to make their day a bit nicer. The more we interact with people, the better we get at it. Here is a plug for doing the AGEIST Leap group, which I think is a wonderful place to have a quick 20-minute check-in with some fellow interesting humans.
This power of influence is particularly acute when we are dealing with younger people. They may give us signals that they could care less about us, but in fact they are probably committing to memory everything we say and do. Just a few words can have an enormous impact. Many times I have had someone come up to me and relate some story of something I had said to them 10 years or more ago that had a huge impact on their lives. I didn’t intend it to be so, it just is. So when we choose to elevate someone with a kind comment, it will be received, even if they seem dismissive. Of course the reverse is also true and, as someone who was constantly told as a young person that I was not very smart, I can attest to the effect that had.
If one strives for invisibility, that too is sending a message that, believe me, is absolutely being received. So, even if we wanted to hide out and be completely anonymous, unless we have that remote cave somewhere, we can’t. We have the power of influence. In fact, we are influencing wherever we are, all the time; the question is: how will we choose to use it? We may not be able to control how our message is received, but we have full control over what we send out. Pro tip: smiling is a power move.
Onward and upward,
David
