Case
Well-known member
How many of us live our lives not for ourselves but for other people? How many of us toss away our own convictions to curry favor with or seek validation from another person?
It happens all too often, but there is a simple cure. Don't seek validation from others, and do what you wish. (Assuming you are not harming anyone in the process.)
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law", I believe is the Aleister Crowley quote. (I'm on my damnable phone, so I can't very well look it up.) Do what thou wilt. Or possibly, do what you want, and don't seek approval or permission from anyone. (This excludes some people who are not fully in control of their own lives, such as minors, but can still be applied.)
If you want to paint, find a way to paint. If you want to sing, find a way to sing. Do whatever pleases you and don't give a honeysuckle about anyone else's negativity or cynicism. If you gain approval, then that is icing on the cake, but don't make the icing your goal.
Whatever you do, by all means, be a well-mannered person when the occasion demands it. But don't be a slave to the interests of other people. You are more important, and your expressions, be they artistic, philosophical, mechanical, political, or spiritual, are your business, and no one has the right in a free country to infringe upon that.
Do you let your desire to please people guide you in your daily life? I suggest examining your life's priorities and focus on your goals. Certainly, some approval is nice. A lot of approval is even better. But if we seek approval as the goal instead of the product we make or the person we want to be, we are handing our destinies to others.
I say, achieve your goals and don't seek approval for them. If you work hard, that is the achievement. Approval is extra.
It happens all too often, but there is a simple cure. Don't seek validation from others, and do what you wish. (Assuming you are not harming anyone in the process.)
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law", I believe is the Aleister Crowley quote. (I'm on my damnable phone, so I can't very well look it up.) Do what thou wilt. Or possibly, do what you want, and don't seek approval or permission from anyone. (This excludes some people who are not fully in control of their own lives, such as minors, but can still be applied.)
If you want to paint, find a way to paint. If you want to sing, find a way to sing. Do whatever pleases you and don't give a honeysuckle about anyone else's negativity or cynicism. If you gain approval, then that is icing on the cake, but don't make the icing your goal.
Whatever you do, by all means, be a well-mannered person when the occasion demands it. But don't be a slave to the interests of other people. You are more important, and your expressions, be they artistic, philosophical, mechanical, political, or spiritual, are your business, and no one has the right in a free country to infringe upon that.
Do you let your desire to please people guide you in your daily life? I suggest examining your life's priorities and focus on your goals. Certainly, some approval is nice. A lot of approval is even better. But if we seek approval as the goal instead of the product we make or the person we want to be, we are handing our destinies to others.
I say, achieve your goals and don't seek approval for them. If you work hard, that is the achievement. Approval is extra.