Our Lives Are Not Our Own

Sheeps or Poodles?
How you imagine yourself?
How others imagine you?

You never ever ever know how people perceive you. Nor do you ever know how you impact their lives.  And ya know what... It kind of sucks AND it's will knock your socks off.

No matter how hard I try to look "Normal", or business-like people (strangers!) see through it.

• I was at the credit union today and the associate was telling me all about the Yellow Door in Berkley because I look like the creative type. 
• The office manager at my counselor's office was sure I had done a local walking fundraiser because of course I'm the type of person who would do that.
• One of my co-workers once asked for my option on something because "I dance to the drum of a different beat".

And here I thought I was normal... Yeah, Right...

There's also how your friends see you. Surprisingly, it's not always how you see yourself.

• My friends see me as outgoing, not shy by any means... I see myself as paralyzing nervous to talk to strangers at a networking event.
• My friends see me as an Artist and artistic... I see myself as crafty, I'm able to take a given recreate it, or modify it, not come up with something new.
• My friends see me as busy and full of happiness and life... I see myself as a loner, intimated by others, and crying or angry a lot.

Why can't we live the life others see us as? I would love to be that person! It's that person I long to be. But, I'm too afraid that person would become too big to live in the life I've created.

On the flip-side, I know how much people have impacted my life. I also know how much they have NO IDEA! None at all.

• I have a large handful of people who I respect greatly! I mentally look to them when I need that extra push. I ask myself, "What would Suzy-Q do?" And then I make up what they would say or do to push me to do what I need to do, not what I want to do. I really have no I idea what they would really say, but I know what the Them in my head would do. So, I go off and try it.
• I still am grateful to people to motivated me decades ago and I'm not shy to tell them. Sometimes, they don't understand it; for them it was just a typical day in their life.

I wonder how they see themselves? I wonder if they are as afraid to be the person I see them as much as I'm afraid to be the person they se me as? Or would they dislike the person I see them as?

As much as we like to think it is... Our lives are not our own. Every time we interact with another human whether on social media, driving, standing in line at the grocery store, talking with your co-workers, hanging with your family or your friends we impact the other person. So... 

What impact are you making? Better yet, what impact do you want to leave? I know I want to keep them thinking amazing thoughts about me.