I Make People Nervous

I’d like to think I’m a pretty pleasant guy. Generally well liked. A peace maker. I like it when people are comfortable around me. But I’ve found at my job – sometimes when I work more closely with folks – I make people nervous.

Yesterday I had a meeting, and I found people were visibly nervous around me. It’s not that they were intimidated by me or that I was holding a knife pointed at them. But my ideas were making people nervous. They were getting a bit antsy when I let them know what I was thinking.

The folks on the team here at RT Creative Group are big risk takers. So none of my ideas really make them nervous. But we happened to be meeting with a different group yesterday, and it was scary for them. Why? We had some pretty risky ideas. There were things that were outside the norm. And they were nervous around me because I was the particular individual presenting those ideas.

Now I did my best to ease their nerves. I reassured them and was as pleasant as I could be. That’s my people-pleasing nature.

But at the same time I liked that they were nervous around me. It was a good sign to me. Because I’m convinced, if you’re going to break the status quo, you have to make a few people nervous. People around you need to feel a little bit uneasy otherwise you aren’t reaching far enough.

Do you find yourself frequently making people nervous? Do people get both excited and scared when they’re around you?

That’s the type of person I want to be. I want folks to love being around me because it feels like an adventure. I want my life to be a thrill ride and I want others to join with me on the ride. A little nervous. But very excited.

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