The parts of us that believe winning praise from others will release us from our painful hunger for that kind of approval belong to the same low level of self that first tempts us into eating what we know we shouldn't -- and that then calls us "Stupid!" for not knowing any better.

The pull we feel to fulfill ourselves through any repetitive action, like seeking approval, mindless distractions, or worriedly "counting" our riches -- whatever these may be -- is one and the same as being pushed along by an unseen fear that can never be consoled by those things it drives us to chase after for its sake....

If you serve only yourself, you serve nothing. If you cling only to yourself, you hold nothing. If you hunger for the approval of others, you starve for nothing. If you wish to please only yourself, you please nothing.

What do we gain for having sold our souls to win the favorable impression of another -- other than having become the slave of that person before whom we are now compelled to continually perform.

Topic: Insights into Awakening the "All-Seeing I" (Classroom Talk 6/19/24)

It is our fear of being alone and in doubt, of wanting to feel certain that what we are doing is right, that compels us to seek the approval of others. So this tells us that the chief cause of why our lives so often wind up in the hands of others is not that they are superior or that the world is too strong for us, but that we don't want to face the uncertainty and aloneness we think we are to...

Topic: You Are Made for the Moment You Meet (Remastered Classic Talk) (Classroom Talk 2/11/26)

You must learn to stop thinking in terms of beginnings and endings, successes and failures, and begin to treat everything in your life as a learning experience instead of a proving one.