The importance of someone else’s opinions of you could affect seemingly unimportant choices.
They could even influence your decision to denounce your favorite color, your favorite flower, or your favorite song in favor of someone else’s favorite. If you are thinking that you don’t allow the opinions of others to influence your choices, I want you to think about all of the times when you purchased any kind of advertised product. Add them to your list.
When we allow someone else to tell us what to do, how to look, what to think, etc., we not only give up who we are in order to gain approval from others, we put our own identity in jeopardy to get it and end up feeling worse about ourselves as a result. And for many, the price for worrying about what others think about us is more than just the loss of identity. By taking these blows to our identity over and over, we go deeper and deeper into the abyss of other-dependent esteem.
The abyss of other-dependent esteem can lead to anger, depression, insecurity, fear, more worry that leads to stress, and numerous other misery-making emotions, which reinforce the need for even more approval from others.
What is the price you pay for needing approval from others? Make a list.
