My social skills didn’t improve until I took responsibility for my personal deficiencies and worked on my character, rather than trying to get people to like me. It’s an ongoing process, and it will never be fully completed. Some days are better than others.

It’s a cycle that doesn’t end until you develop yourself, take ownership of your problems, and get comfortable with people disliking you— the more you strive to have people like you and seek their approval, the more they will dislike you.

People are far more intuitive than we realize or admit. If someone is friendly for the sake of being liked, it is usually detected almost instantly.

View yourself as an independent entity in society, who helps others feel good about themselves, regardless of reciprocation. You are above the fray, and will be fine regardless if someone approves of you or not.

The only relationships you should be  invested in are with those who value you, align with your character, and bring out the best in you.

The desire to be accepted by others isn’t a weakness, it’s an inherent part of our instincts and how our ancestors survived. 

However, often times the superficial need for validation from others is a band-aid, where deeper level self-improvement and self-acceptance is needed.