The Approval Paradox
The more you want someone's approval, the harder it is to get it.
Approval seeking is a sign of insecurity and neediness, both unattractive traits.
“When you're content to simply be yourself and not compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
—Lao Tzu
The Approval Paradox The more you want someone's approval, the harder it is to get it. Approval seeking is a sign of insecurity and neediness, both unattractive traits. “When you're content to simply be yourself and not compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” —Lao Tzu
So he covets approval, and learns that gaining the sanction of others is tantamount to being successful and happy.
Wayne W. Dyer • Your Erroneous Zones: Step-by-Step Advice for Escaping the Trap of Negative Thinking and Taking Control of Your Life
This is the Paradox of Self-Improvement: Are you improving yourself for yourself, or do you want others to respond more positively? Call that approval-seeking if you like, but it doesn’t have to be one or the other. It can be both.
Rollo Tomassi • The Rational Male - The Players Handbook: A Red Pill Guide to Game
Instead of seeking approval, one has to approve oneself, with one’s own mind.
Fumitake Koga • The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day
Accidental approval-seeking is what I call “The Pathos Problem.”
Rob Fitzpatrick • The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you
The difficulty in speaking openly is caused, not by the desire for approval as such, but by resistance to that desire. By expressing the desire either aloud to the person concerned or internally, we increase the sense of self-respect and autonomy. We also free the mind to be aware that there is a wider context, other needs, and that the most import
... See moreNathaniel Branden • Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect
Make yourself proud. When you constantly seek approval, you give more weight to another person’s opinion than to your own.