Your quiz result
The Approval Grip
“Their reaction is the verdict.”
That’s the story you’ve been holding onto. Let’s take a good look at it.
How it shows up
You reread a two-line email three times before sending it. You replay conversations at 11 PM. You over-explain decisions nobody questioned, need a second opinion before trusting your own, and say yes while your whole body says no.
From the outside, all of this looks calm and competent. From the inside, it’s a full-time review process.
What it costs
Every decision runs through an approval committee that never adjourns. And on that committee, your own opinion has the smallest vote.
Meanwhile, the seats are filled with people who moved on minutes after the conversation you’re still replaying.
Nothing has gone wrong
Here’s the part that matters. Nothing has gone wrong. You’ve practiced treating other people’s reactions as the measure of your choices, and a practiced thought always feels true.
Loosen the grip on the story that their response decides whether you got it right, and decisions get faster, cleaner, and yours.
One small shift to try this week
Before asking anyone what they think this week, write down what you think first. One sentence. You can still ask. You’re just making sure your own verdict gets recorded before the committee weighs in.
The question to carry
Is that true?
Pointed at the story itself: does their reaction actually decide whether you got it right? Held up to the light, that story rarely survives the question.
Want to keep loosening this one?
I’ll send you three short emails going deeper on the Approval grip and how to make decisions that are faster, cleaner, and yours.
You’ll also get my 10 Micro-Habits guide right away. It’s the five-minute version of this work.
Get the Approval grip emails
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
