I was driving down that road and saw a billboard that said “Approval Patrol” on a picture of a few people looking very serious.  It was a funny thought I had, thinking of how we sometimes live like there actually is an official Approval Patrol.

Every day we do wonder what others will think of many different subjects of us.  We all want to fit in, belong, be loved, accepted, understood, and approved of.  I’m now picturing my favorite show Project Runway.  Right now the Project Runway: All Stars is airing and I love Georgina Chapman, one of the judges on there.  She’s one of the designers of Marchesa, the fashion label with dreamy gowns you see on the red carpet of the award shows.  She is so goddess.  She makes me want to die my hair back to my natural dark brown color and become British.  She is so cool, that even when she doesn’t like a design, she says it with class and like it’s wrapped up in a compliment.  I imagine my Approval Patrol, or committee, or panel of judges would have a perfect beauty like her on it.  That stellar lady on the Approval Patrol would always look impeccably dressed and sport the latest styles, but her children would be getting trophies and never say bad words.

I used to LIVE for the approval of others.  It often takes us at least to our 30’s to realize that committee of folks we are seeking a gold star from will never all agree on our rightness or our value.  Other people’s opinions will always vary and especially about us, often dependent on whether we are doing things for them or following the way of living that they do.  Like they say things are in “the court of public opinion,” well there’s such a thing as “prison of public opinion.”  And often the people we cared who approved of us in our 20’s aren’t around for our 30’s anyway.

How would life be different of we truly didn’t care what others thought.  That is total freedom.  Just think of all the possibilities for our lives if there were no opinions?  Would we paint?  Would we sing on stage?  Would we write books?  What would we wear?  What would we say?  What would we say?  Who would we be without the opinion of others?  What would we drive?  How would we decorate out homes?  Would we all have houses all crazy cool colors?  How many pink houses would there be?  How often would we dance?  Would people dance at weddings without needing any booze to allow them to let go of inhibitions?  Would people wear costumes like just on a random day, not just Halloween, but like every day was like a parade.  Sounds like heaven to me.  Freedom and costumes are the best.  No matter what we’d do, all that mattered is that we felt good about it and not how it looked to others or was perceived.  There are actually people who live like that.

Next time you go to make a decision, think about what factors you are using to figure it out.  Are other people’s opinions being hypothesized or used in the equation?  What if you just made a choice based on your own intuition?  Hmm…what a concept?

The Approval Patrol will just find someone else.  They always do.