Making assumptions is one of the fastest ways that negative beliefs can take over.
There’s also another culprit at play. It’s one of the leading causes of failure: the need for validation and approval.
That’s why seeking validation is crippling you.
Needing something from anyone else in the form of validation is how you can identify codependency.
Trust me, I’m very attuned to this because I’m a recovering codependent.
Like I talked about in this previous blog post, allowing other people’s words to impact how you see yourself is a fast way to block your personal growth.
This is what the seeking of validation (someone else’s opinion about you) does to your emotional and mental health.
The results of seeking validation are having very low confidence and not believing in yourself. Let’s change that!
*Break free from seeking validation by using the Growth Farming method in this free course.
Photo by Bernard on Unsplash
How To Stop Fearing Other People’s Opinions
Want help overcoming seeking validation from other people?
We get this wrong all the time. We tell ourselves that we don’t care what someone else’s opinion about us is.
Yet often this isn’t really that true.
Do you care what people think of you?
If you think, “No dude, people can think whatever they want to think. I’m fine,” are you sure?
My guess is that on some level there’s a hidden want or need that you have for other people to approve of and validate you.
Let’s see if that’s true. And more importantly, let’s look at what to do about it.
Remember that phrase I gave you when we talked about asses (not the kind you might be thinking)?
That is a great way to think about things when it comes to the human condition of needing validation. I’m just as guilty of this fallacy of thinking as anyone else is. I have told myself that I don’t care what other people think, BUT……
When put to the test, I realized that I had a big desire for someone else to validate me before I believed in myself or my worth. Actually, I secretly sought it out. I spent years pining for someone else’s approval, acceptance, love, and validation.
Which created some dysfunction in my connections and also created a few very painful dysfunctional relationships.
Why Seeking Validation Is The Root Of Insecurity
It’s not just thinking that you’re not enough or that you’re not worthy. Those two false beliefs will derail you on their own.
But the root of the problem is the idea that someone else telling you that you’re good enough or worthy will make it so.
That’s bullcrap. Here’s the truth: No one gets to determine your value except you.
If you give anyone else the power to determine your value, you’re still conceding what’s rightfully yours to someone else.
It’s still your choice.
Validation and seeking approval create the opposite effect of what you’re wanting.
Self-realization Brings Tremendous Benefits
In changing the way I see myself I have a LOT more fun.
That means I dress differently and interact differently with people.
Me playing Mozart at one of our Mozart Society parties
An example of this is something I started doing in 2018 with our local philharmonic.
We have a group of young professionals who form The Mozart Society (see above) as a way to attract a younger audience to the symphony. I’m the official mascot.
Which means I wear a colonial wig, dress in elaborate suits and have a blast with everyone. Because it’s fun, and awesome.
I choose to celebrate life regardless of what anyone else thinks. The scared dude who needed validation and approval from others wouldn’t be ballsy enough to do this. Which means….
It all comes down to belief
What do you really believe about yourself? What do you really believe about the work you do, the quality of your production, the value that it has?
Here’s the real deal Holyfield:
The only person who’s going to give you the validation that actually matters is yourself.
It’s one of the reasons why I practice daily affirmations and mantras.
Like I said earlier, this has been a struggle for me for a long time. When I break away from my affirmations practice, I tend to slip back into these negative patterns. And it sucks!
Get powerful and life-changing affirmations that I use every day to continually improve my self-worth and relationships here.
You Must Choose To Have Your Own Back
Back yourself up.
As soon as you stop wanting someone else to tell you that you’re good enough and you start believing it, everything will change for you.
Affirmations, along with meditation and journaling, are daily tools I use to plant and cultivate Love in my inner garden. Just doing affirmations still has an incredible impact on reshaping your beliefs to go from helpless (needing validation) to empowered (solid on your own merit).
The impact of this practice is widespread. Your life will transform and your career will transform in magnificent ways.
The Real Dark Side Of Seeking Other People’s Validation
Seeking validation from others is putting someone else on the throne of your life. It’s giving someone else a helix of power that determines everything about your success or failure.
And you’re the one giving someone else the power to curse you by fostering this negative belief and practice.
If someone can validate you and that gives you power, they can also invalidate you and take all that power away.
From that lower, insecure position, you’re subconsciously waiting for people to tell you how bad you are, or that you’re not good enough. You’re waiting for someone to confirm the negative beliefs you have about yourself.
When they do, the insecurity is upheld. “See, Jack said I suck at writing cool blog articles. I knew it!”
This leads to you second-guessing yourself, and not really putting your heart or your best effort forward. Why put your best effort or try your best when you believe your best isn’t good enough? You invalidate yourself with your own beliefs.
This is why so many people settle for average work, average lives, average relationships. Or even worse, why so many people settle for unhealthy and dysfunctional relationships.
They don’t feel worthy of goodness. Because somewhere in time, someone said they weren’t worthy (or that’s how they interpreted it)?
Give Yourself Permission To Be Awesome
Yep, you read that right. Give YOURSELF permission. To. Be. Awesome!
It’s like Zach de la Rocha shouted in the iconic Rage Against The Machine track, “You gotta take the power back!!!” The song lyric is a bit vulgar, but in your empowerment process, you might even want to rant on that last line he shouts.
But you have to give yourself the power to determine your worth. Allow no one else to do that!
A practical exercise is looking at yourself in the mirror and telling the person looking back at you,
“You are good enough. You are my favorite person. I believe in you!”
Sound cheesy? Who cares? It works.
It’s no cheesier than letting your inner critic in your head tell you that no one likes you or no one cares about you or that you suck.
How To Silence Your Inner Critic Bully
Your inner critic is a bully.
When you empower choose to believe in yourself, the obstacles and challenges you think are in the way of your success won’t be there anymore.
Because you won’t be looking for them.
That “need” you think you have for someone else’s approval, acceptance, and validation will disappear.
Because you gain all of those things from yourself.
Confidence is second nature when you Love yourself.
If you want more confidence, Love yourself. It’s that simple.
This is the core principle and method taught in my book, Be Solid: How To Go Through Hell & Come Out Whole.
One Simple Method To Practice Self Love That Works Fast
In the ways you love someone else, you can also Love yourself. As long as your method of Love is healthy and whole.
If you dote on someone and tell them how great they are, how much you appreciate them being in your life, and how you couldn’t live without them, give that to yourself.
Because it’s all true.
You can’t live without yourself. Give yourself the Love that you give away to others.
It’s like Lisa Nichols says, “We show the world how to love us by how we love ourselves.”
When you Love and respect yourself, you show people that you’re worthy of love and respect. So you end up getting more of that. Wayne Dyer says, “If you want people’s approval, stop trying so hard to get it.”
The people we tend to approve of the most are those who really don’t care if anyone is paying attention or not.
Confident People Makes Us Want To Be In Their Energy
The big takeaway here is to let go of the need for validation because it’s a recipe for the antithesis: rejection. You don’t want rejection, but you’re giving it to yourself by not seeing your own worth.
The antidote to this human fallacy is to give love to yourself.
Fill up your own heart-well with the love you pour out to others.
Then, as you love yourself and transform yourself, more people become inherently drawn to you as you grow.
Author Bio: Hi, I’m D Grant Smith, the Relationship Growth Farmer. I help people overcome fear and people-pleasing patterns to grow in confidence, experience real peace, and have healthy and strong relationships by treating your heart and mind like a garden.
Want to learn more from me through powerful and transformational lessons (plus awesome and inspiring short stories)?
Become a Growth Farmer with me by joining the Growth Farming membership now!
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