How to Stop Seeking Approval & Validation From Others.

It is reasonable for anyone to want their ideas, choices, achievements, or opinions validated by those around them.

A significant aspect of the need for approval & validation from others has evolved out of social media and the way people frame themselves and their identity based on how others respond to their posts.

However approval & validation seeking can led to constantly striving for nonstop perfection can lead to unhappiness & burnout at work & in your personal life.

1. Build a sound sense of self-acceptance.

The first step is to strengthen your core foundation is to feel strong enough to go with what feels right for you. This way, you’ll no longer feel the need to look to others to feel good enough about your decisions & choices.

2. Accept Rejection

Think back to a time when you disappointed someone or failed to meet expectations. How did you recover from that slip-up? What did you learn as a result?

In most cases, you were probably able to turn the situation around and it likely helped you grow as a professional.
When you break it down, disapproval is a form of feedback.

3. Focus on the process, not outcomes.

When you focus too narrowly on one singular result, such as getting a raise or promotion, you attach your self-worth to external things which are outside of your control.

However, if you concentrate on a process that you can control, you can reduce the power that approval has over you. For example, maybe you strive to become more disciplined, so you’re seen as more effective — and therefore, more deserving of a promotion.

4. Take a social media break

Getting off social media is among the best ways to stop approval & validation seeking. This eliminates the comparison to others or the anxiety and stress about how your picture, post, or comment is being seen and received by others.

Credit