If you are an approval addict, your behaviour is as easy to control as that of any other junkie. All a manipulator need do is a simple two-step process: Give you what you crave, and then threaten to take it away. Every drug dealer in the world plays this game.

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralising.

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.

If kindness and compassion opens the door to manipulation, it is time to take your business elsewhere.

Before the foundations of the world, He loved you.
Before the fall of Eden, He loved you. Before He sent His Son splitting through the cosmos to this world, He loved you. Before He died upon the cross, He loved you. When He rose again, He loved you. And He's coming back again because He loves you. When you took your first breath, He loved you. When you messed up bad, He loved you. When you made good grades, He loved you. When you won and when you lost, He loved you.