Too many of you, as men, are seeking the validation of others.
You look to your wife to make you happy, your boss to tell you you’re doing a good job, your kids to give you purpose and meaning, and your friends to tell you it’s all going to be okay.
STOP doing that. Your validation as a man is not theirs to give. It’s yours to develop. How do you do that? Simple.
- MAKE GOALS: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re inevitably going to look to others to dictate the course for you. The problem with that is your goals aren’t always aligned with others and you’ll find yourself bitter and resentful for pursuing what others want, not what you want.
- COMMIT RUTHLESSLY: The biggest barrier to validating yourself in life is knowing that you could have done so much more but you failed – because you were indecisive, lazy, and/or lacked discipline. The closer the gap between who you want to be and who you are, the great ability you’ll have to feel confident in yourself regardless of what others think about you.
- CELEBRATE YOUR WINS: It’s easy to move on too quickly from an obtained objective. Don’t do that. Instead, take some time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished, why it’s important to your development, and extract the ideas and actions it took to make your dreams a reality. It’s okay to celebrate your victories from time to time. You earned them. Now, embrace them.
