Attachment to external validation

The popular request around external validation is: "I need to stop feeling worthless when someone criticizes me," but rarely, "I need to stop feeling inflated when someone praises me." That asymmetry reveals the ego: it doesn't seek freedom from external validation, only freedom from the part that hurts. True freedom means loosening the ego's dependence on both praise and criticism, until neither a compliment elevates you nor criticism diminishes you.

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