Approval

The only path to authenticity involves letting go of the fear of opinion. Without this ability, everything we do will be passed through a filter of outside approval. 

Our earliest life lessons involved performing to meet a standard. We had to behave in ways that gained us respect and love from our elders through a conditional performance. 

That Pavlov-like trigger doesn't disappear overnight and must be worked on such that our validation comes primarily from within ourselves. 

We risk not being liked or approved of and realize afterwards that we aren't worse for the wear. People-pleasing becomes much less appetizing once we know that many if not most don't deserve that from us. 

The gap between the social version and the real us must be as small as possible. Not because we want the right to be rude or loud at a party but because we don't want to need to fulfill what is expected by people whose opinions don't really matter.