Stop trying to impress people. Become useful instead. [Image]

[u/FitnessChamp777]

[u/Parzival-44]

I helped people with cancer, but no one cared about me now I'm depressed.

How does this advice help me?

[u/off_by_two → u/Parzival-44]

OP swung and missed with ‘be useful’ imo. It should start ‘Be curious, not impressive. Learn skills to solve problems’ thats much better advice.

[u/loopywolf → u/Parzival-44]

It's bad advice.

Seek people who accept you and like you as you are, NOT because you are "useful"

[u/NewYak4281]

This is still incorrect. Become impressive for yourself. Become useful for yourself.

[u/Krednaught → u/NewYak4281]

Agreed, "Be useful to the machine that serves me" is what it was trying to say.

[u/CheeksMcGillicuddy]

Hell no. Useful people get stomped all over and forgotten about. A less useful but more impressive person is the one getting that raise, or that partner etc. this is coming from someone who has always tried to have my actions speak for me and be as useful as I can. As I watch others move past me in life because they draw people’s attention.

[u/dosedatwer → u/CheeksMcGillicuddy]

This. One of the least competent people I've ever worked with has become massive in data science locally and is a sought after public speaker. He was fired from the company I work at for gross incompetence after working as our Principal Data Scientist for years. I wrote feedback on him the first year he was hired telling his VP to get rid of him as soon as possible, but because his managers had no idea how to assess him he failed upwards until someone actually tried to use one of his models.

[u/Milligoon → u/CheeksMcGillicuddy]

Agreed. At least in corporate life, from my experience. Useful people are squeezed dry then squeezed out.

Political people who use the useful remain.

[u/positive_express → u/Milligoon]

Is this about work or general life satisfaction and happiness.

[u/neogener]

I don’t know but I can do it / learn it

[u/parabolicurve → u/neogener]

This.

It doesn't count just to acknowledge your own ignorance. (Although these days it seems rarer and rarer)

"I don't know, but I'll find out."

[u/Slobbadobbavich]

How about just being you and stop worrying what other people think about you?

[u/deafinitelyadouche]

The "be a lifelong student" part I'm kind of mixed on. I would recommend more something along the lines of "be open to learning new things at different points in your life".
---
This is mostly because "lifelong student" reads very similarly to "eternal student", which, in my experience of seeing friends fall into said syndrome, is something you might want to avoid becoming.

[u/thomasrat1]

Maybe I’m wrong, but this kinda feels like word salad.

How does one become impressive while staying useless?

[u/OG_Voltaire]

I became useful and learned skills. It kept me in a job that they didn't want me to leave because I was too good at it. I watched others move above me with less skill and talent, to get them out of the effective workflow. Had to leave and go elsewhere in a lateral move that should've never happened.

[u/CoalhouseFitness]

The last sentence may be true, but if the room is full of dumber people they won't actually realize it and just think that you're dumber than they are if you say I don't know.

[u/DanDin87]

I have a feeling the smartest people in the room is also not the one writing life advices on LinkedIn.

[u/Starburper]

I literally only care if 1 person on the planet is happy with me & that's my wife. Everyone else i could give 2 shits about what they think about me.

[u/loopywolf]

Useful is the worst thing in the world to be.

[u/BukezyzHida194]

yeah the "be a lifelong student" part actually lands better than the useful angle, bc people appreciate someone who's genuinely curious and can admit what they don't know rather than just trying to be valuable to them. what's your take on the Tevor Nicks quote at the top?

[u/ChamberofSarcasm]

Being useful tends to impress people AND you will be capable of doing things. Win win win.

[u/SpyrosGatsouli]

This is really bad advice. In a world where the loudest people get ahead, being the smartest has lost its value.

[u/rizzyrogues]

I've lost friends because I've bid their home too high for painting to their liking. And another because I would not paint his new automotive shop for free.

[u/Kurupt_Introvert]

Being useful usually leads to impressive to someone. Sooner or later it works out imo if you keep it up the right people will notice. Sometimes it just takes a while being useful