Gold Star Syndrome ~ Via Up From Splat

"Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns." ~ Tehyi Hsieh

"The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval." ~ Denis Waitley

One of the blogs I enjoy reading is http://upfromsplat.com/blog/.  She posts text blogs and sometimes she posts videos.  This one is about Gold Star Syndrome.

I think many of us suffer from Gold Star Syndrome. We have been brainwashed into believing that we need the approval of others. Some one outside of us to tell us that what we have done is good and right.  

I make beaded jewelry, I enjoy making beaded jewelry. There is something really gratifying about taking a pile of beads and creating a beautiful piece of jewelry that I can wear or even pass on to  someone else to enjoy. I enjoy the feeling when someone thinks a piece of my jewelry is beautiful, but I don't make it to get that pat on the back. I make the jewelry because it makes me feel good to create something.

I can see how we come to rely on this approval as the basis for our self-esteem; it feels good.  But as Ande says in this video we have no control over someone else.  We can only control ourselves, our own thoughts, and our own actions. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9j1T85YuuI

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 2. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.