It's so ironic. Many of us chase the approval of those that don't value us, while ignoring those that do. We put so much energy into impressing people with our appearance and achievements and they pay attention for ten seconds and then go back to eating their lunch. If we actually knew how little time other people devote to thinking about us, we wouldn't devote so much time to trying to please and impress them. All the energy that gets put into gaining external validation is fruitless, until we find a way to impress ourselves. Imagine a world where we are less interested in what others think of us, and far more interested in how we feel about ourselves. That's the world we all want to live in.