On more than one occasion I have been told this. Usually by folk who know me by sight and finally meet me.
I used to be confounded by this. I mean… look at the picture above… goofball often in a pith is intimidating?
To be fair I’m not screen star pretty. (Not even close.) And if I did have a career on screen I would probably be cast as the baddie. I’ll take that. (The baddie roles are fun.)
And physically I’m not exactly built like some some cage fighter who could snap your neck like a used toothpick. Heck, with the right moves a seven year old could take me out. (Some have gotten close.)
O.K. so… perhaps I am scary looking… or at least can be. Some mornings I’ve scared myself looking in the mirror. Not the kind of face you’d want to encounter in a dark alleyway. I’ll take that. I can think of a couple of occasions when that perception has preserved my physical well-being from being beaten to a pulpy mess.
It’s the “book and the cover” thing, isn’t it? It used to bug me… but not any more.
I can live and am thankful with what nature has bestowed upon me. And now the thought that some find me intimidating provides me with a sometime source of amusement.
If you do read this post and found me intimidating… please feel free to share… I really want to know. Perhaps it says more about the perceiver than the perceived.