It is our fear of being alone and in doubt, of wanting to feel certain what we are doing is right, that compels us to seek the approval of others. Thus the chief cause of many of the decisions of our lives so often winding 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 of our doubts and the loneliness we believe we are too weak to bear. This is the real cause of all of our flawed relationships. We have been betrayed by a belief in our own weakness.
The conscious refusal to go along with this weakness invokes and consolidates real inner confidence. This new kind of strength gradually becomes the cornerstone of a true individual existence — the life we’ve always wanted. The stakes are actually eternal — but self-victory is as certain as the fact that light always triumphs over darkness.
Use the following ten key lessons to help strengthen your understanding of these vital ideas. Think about them; welcome their healing insights as ‘lights along the way’ to true self-liberation.
Special study for lasting self-confidence:
1. When you don’t know what to do with yourself, someone will always be happy to tell you.
2. Why seek the approval of someone who doesn’t even approve of himself?
3. Fawning before an angry person is like asking a rabid wolf for its approval.
