3 Ways Seeking Validation Stunts Your Personal Growth

We’re conditioned to start seeking validation from a very young age. We seek approval, praise, and love from those around us because their validation reassures us that we have something valuable to offer.

When we’re babies, we receive validation for eating and sleeping. Later, we receive validation for walking and talking. Then, validation starts to come in the form of report cards and participation certificates. And as adults, it comes in the form of titles, offices, and parking spots.

But no one ever teaches us that seeking internal validation might be one of the most important skills we can ever learn — the type of validation that tells you that you are worthy and valuable regardless of what anyone else thinks.

So . . . we continue seeking validation from those around us without being conscious of it. This lack of consciousness can stunt our personal growth in many ways, but we’ll talk about 3 today.

1. Your self-worth will be under someone else’s control. You’re not likely to experience much personal growth if you don’t think you’re worthy of the results. When you rely on someone else to supply your self-worth, you end up in a cycle of constantly seeking your next fix and your next dealer, so to speak. And that’s a viscous, growth-stunting cycle to be in.
2. You will feel less than. There are a lot of insecure people out there, and they will unwittingly see your personal growth as a threat. They will make snide comments about your goals or downplay your accomplishments to make themselves feel better. And, if you’re not careful about who you’re seeking validation from, you can easily start doubting yourself. That doubt will stunt your personal growth.

Keep scrolling to find the 3rd way your growth can be stunted.