Approval? Approval is stupid. Why do you care if others approve or not?

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Just answer the question. One word answers like 'because' will not be tolerated. If you write a novel I wish I could publish it for you. I keep seeing people return to this subject. Why won't he/she approve of me, why don't your parents/friends/dog/car (etc) approve of me, I don't see why you don't approve of my decision to delay college/get a job/move out/ leave the country/ be a singer/ hide under a rock. Why do we give OTHER PEOPLE and THINGS this power of 'approval' over us? Why can't we just DO WHAT WE WANT and not care about this approval thing? For me it's acceptance. I really prefer that people just accept things. Accepting doesn't mean APPROVING. Accepting doesn't mean you agree. It simply means that it is what it is and you aren't going to change my mind or get in my way and that's the end of it. I AM in favor of that. I feel that is how people need to interact in order to get along. I am still stuck on this approval thing though. It's petty. It doesn't matter. It changes nothing except for making a situation or life EASIER. Didn't anybody warn you life wasn't easy? Bottom line, if you allow the fact that someone doesn't approve of you or something you do to CHANGE who you are or WHAT YOU DO, what does that say about you? That you're willing to cave in to pressure from others? That you aren't actually proud of who you are? That you think others are right and you're wrong? What a sad thing to believe about yourself. BTW if you don't approve of my right to complain about this, I don't care. I do hope that you accept it needs to be said though.