The following is a guest post from Steve Siebold author of the international best-seller 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class.

Are you constantly concerned with what other people think of you and your actions?  If so, chances are you’re suffering from approval addiction.  In fact, many mental health professionals say approval addiction is the worst addiction you can have, more so than drugs or alcohol because it interferes with almost everything in our day-to-day lives.

If you’re a busy mom, chances are you have enough on your plate.  You have to take care of the kids, perhaps you’re focused on your career, food shopping and the list goes on.  You might have a problem with approval addiction if you catch yourself thinking these kind of thoughts:

• Is my car nice enough for where we live?  What will the other moms think if they see me driving this?
• Do I look pretty enough? 
• Are my clothes nice enough?
• What will my co-workers think of my suggestion?  Will they think it’s a stupid idea? 
• What will my boss say if he doesn’t like my presentation?
• What if I bake a cake for the school bake sale and the other parents don’t like how it looks or tastes?
• My Husband and I don’t have as much time to be intimate as we used to.  Am I satisfying him in the bedroom?  Is he happy?  Would he think of leaving me?

STOP!  As if being a mom isn’t hard enough these days, suffering from approval addiction is an added burden that is unhealthy, time consuming and will get in the way of everything you do.  Ask yourself this question:  Why is it so important what other people think of you?

If you want to overcome your addiction to the approval of others, try this:  On a scale of one to seven, seven being highest, how high is your need to be approved and validated by other people?  Next, ask your spouse or best friend to rate you on the same scale, and then compare answers.

If you scored high on that little quiz, here are a few steps you can take to help you overcome your approval addiction:

• Stop caring what other people think. 
• You don’t have to be a people-pleaser. 
• It’s okay to disagree with others.
• Learn to say no.
• Live your life how you want to live it.
• Develop a world-class self-talk. 
• Don’t always play it safe; learn to take risks.
• Constantly feed your visions and starve your fears.
• Stay in the present and operate from objective reality.

The great thing about overcoming approval addiction is once you do to even a small degree, you are free of the psychological chains that bind you from ever experiencing world-class success in all areas of your life.

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Steve Siebold is one of the world’s most noted experts in the field of mental toughness training.  He is the author of the international best-seller 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class.  His mental toughness techniques have been featured on NBC’s Today, Good Morning America, CNN and media all over the world.  To learn more, visit www.speakerstevesiebold.com