quotations about approval
I have yet to find the man, however great or exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.
CHARLES SCHWAB
Andrew Carnegie: His Methods with His Men
If you are an approval addict, your behaviour is as easy to control as that of any other junkie. All a manipulator need do is a simple two-step process: Give you what you crave, and then threaten to take it away. Every drug dealer in the world plays this game.
HARRIET B. BRAIKER
Who's Pulling Your Strings? How to Break the Cycle of Manipulation and Regain Control of Your Life
Next to the disapproval of our friends, the approval of our enemies is most to be dreaded.
OCTAVE FEUILLET
attributed, Day's Collacon
Do not trust to the cheering, for those very persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged.
OLIVER CROMWELL
attributed, The New Speaker's Treasury of Wit and Wisdom
Approval is more than just saying "Thanks for doing that job" or "Thanks for passing that coffee"; it is a way of saying "Thanks for being who you are" and "Thanks for sharing this time and energy with me". Showing approval to someone when they have reached out to us lets them know that we have recognized the energy they have given to us. But showing too much approval, disproportionate to what they have done for us, may weaken our position because it tells the other person that we are hungry for their energy and are in danger of wanting to feed off them.
PERRY WOOD
Secrets of the People Whisperer
The truth is, many of us are looking for the approval of those closest to us on some level or another. And often this is disguised by the desire to have someone understand what we are talking about or going through, anything important to us about ourselves. I always thought I just wanted them to "get it." In reality, I wanted them to get it so that they would be okay with me.
JADE MAZARIN
"Seeking to be Understood: The Need for Approval", Psych Central, December 19, 2011
If all we ever offer is blanket praise without any meaning behind it, kids will always seek approval because they'll never feel satisfied. If we offer genuine encouragement for their accomplishments, they won't need our approval; they'll approve of themselves.
KELLY BARTLETT
Encouraging Words for Kids
The sole impulse which dictates and compels a man's every act: the imperious necessity of securing his own approval, in every emergency and at all costs.... It is our only spur, our whip, our goad, our impelling power; we have no other.
MARK TWAIN
"What Is Man?", What Is Man? and Other Essays
How much does it cost
To win your approval?
Will it be money well spent?
CLARA MARIE MITCHELL
"Friendship", Poems of Reflection: Faith, Life, and Travel
If we're in constant need for approval from other people, it could be a sign that the approval we receive internally simply isn't enough.
ERICA FLORENTINE
"8 Weird Signs Of Low Self-Esteem & How To Change It", Bustle, December 30, 2015
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
MARK TWAIN
"What Is Man?", What Is Man? and Other Essays
Life is too short to waste time waiting for other people's approval on how you live it.
STEVE MARABOLI
Unapologetically You
If we are addicted to people's approval, we will always experience pain when that approval is withdrawn--as it always is.
JOYCE MEYER
Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone
Once you get rid of the idea that you must please other people before you please yourself, and you begin to follow your own instincts -- only then can you be successful. You become more satisfied, and when you are, other people tend to be satisfied by what you do.
RAQUEL WELCH
attributed, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Milennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing
The need for approval from others destroys our freedom to succeed on our own terms. When the desire to get people to like us motivates our personal and professional choices, we only go backward.
FAISAL HOQUE
"6 Mind-Set Changes To Help You Make A Fresh Start", Fast Company, January 4, 2016
Somewhere in the middle of being driven by "what other people think", the tension between the desire for approval and the fear of disapproval, are we missing what we really want?
RACHNA SINGH
"Love yourself first", Deccan Herald, February 21, 2016
What do you mean I have to wait for someone's approval? I'm someone. I approve. So I give myself permission to move forward with my full support!
RICHELLE E. GOODRICH
Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verses & Grumbling for Every Day of the Year
Here is the thing about the need for approval.... You are not driven by your own goals rather by something that someone else has deemed important. It takes away the power you have over your situation and gives it to someone else.
NICOLE SANDERS
"Ask Nicole: Believe In Yourself!", Curve Mag, January 17, 2016
The Age of Reason has turned out to be the Age of Structure; a time when, in the absence of purpose, the drive for power as a value in itself has become the principal indicator of social approval. And the winning of power has become the measure of social merit.
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Voltaire's Bastards
Most children were taught from a young age to seek approval from their parents for the things they said or did. Since the need for approval, love and acceptance from our parents is strong, we become conditioned over time to seek approval from others as well. Whenever we don't receive approval from someone who is not our parent, there is an automatic trigger and desire to win it back.
LAUREN SUVAL
"What Drives Our Need For Approval?", Psych Central, September 20, 2012