Acceptance and Approval are Keys to a Healthy Self
How I found a trustworthy basis for acceptance and approval
We need to be loved and we need to belong. This is one of the five basic needs Dr. William Glasser identified as essential to our well being as people. I learned of his Reality and Choice theories while pursuing certification for drug and alcohol counseling.
At the time, I was a full-time pastor of a growing church in the southern California high desert with a full counseling load each week. With many young families in our church and our school district’s non-existent policy on alcohol and drug abuse, I realized my need for further education.
It was the mid-eighties and self-esteem was a major focus. Theories abounded on what is needful for a healthy sense of self. They still abound.
Some theories encourage internal centeredness while others give direction on controlling and minimizing externals. But I learned to focus my heart and life on acceptance and approval from an eternal standpoint.
A serendipitous event
I grew up in what I’d call a functional–dysfunctional family. It wasn’t healthy but it wasn’t abusive. I knew my own internal need for acceptance and approval as I worked through issues that surfaced while my…
