They hitch their worthiness wagons to this noxious star

Ellis writes that our need to impress others and to win their approval, and thereby view ourselves as a good person, leads to an obsession that tends to preempt a large part of our life.

We wind up seeking status instead of seeking joy.

Do you know anyone like that? The person who needs everyone to notice, like and even love their work in order to feel grounded?

It breaks my heart. Because no matter how hard we try to peddle our talents and abilities in exchange for other people’s love, no amount of approval from others can make us feel worthy.

That’s an inside job. If we don’t learn to value our own opinion of who we are and what we do, then we will spend all of our time running around with our tongues hanging out, and we will miss our lives.

Not only is this an unhealthy relationship with the world, but it’s a total mismanagement of energy. There’s so much joy to be experienced. And we can access all of it, but not if we’re trying to manufacture approval from the outside in.

Take art critics. Entire forests are destroyed printing scathing reviews that dissect people’s work down to the bone. And creators actually take time out of their days to read this garbage. They hitch their worthiness wagons to this noxious star, and all it does it make them doubt their abilities and compare themselves to others.

That’s hours of time per months that could be better spent playing at the park, having dinner with friends, or god forbid, making more art.

Williamson writes in her spirituality guidebook that the ego would prefer that we not look directly into our deeper self. It doesn’t wear a watch and has zero respect for our time.

And so, if you start to feel that inner yearning for approval attempting to man the ship, stop your ego in its tracks. Ask yourself how you might seek joy instead of seeking status.

Think of it as spiritual time management.

The irony is, if you build a life worth writing about, then you might actually write material worth talking about.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Is living through a false persona to gain approval and love the most efficient way to spend your day?