Imagine there was a place that we could go to get ‘validated’. To be reassured that we are significant, valuable, an approved human being.
Interestingly, most people act as though they think there is. They go to their wardrobes and look for validation in their clothes. They go to work and look for validation in their achievements. They go to their photos and look for validation in their relationships.
The trouble is, those sorts of affirmation are so fleeting. Fashions change. Achievements fade. Photos can only represent the past. They all slowly lose their power to assure us, and in a week’s time we’re likely to wake up and begin the search for validation all over again.
But it’s very human to look for validation. We all want to know that we look ok, that we’re doing ok - in short, that we are ok. We want to know that our experiences and opinions matter. We want to believe we’re an authentic person, living a worthwhile life.
This is much, much more than a pair of shoes can offer. Even Nikes. So where do we go to get the sort of validation that lasts a lifetime?
Some people say lasting assurance lives in a healthy bank account. Others say you find it in healthy children. And still others, in a healthy relationship with God.
In August, come to The Edge with us, and let’s see if we can discover the source of real validation together. We’ve gathered some brilliant minds to help us think through the problem- add yours to the mix! - and discover a source of validation that will not only last the night but will build as the days go by.
Max Jeganathan has an international understanding of the world’s quest for validation. His family came to Australia from Sri Lanka as refugees, and he went on to study law at the Australian National University, and then the University of Oxford. Max became a political and policy analyst, advising the Leader of the Australian Opposition. He is now based in Singapore as the Senior Apologist for the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries where he develops positions on the relationships between faith, politics, public policy, economics and moral reasoning.
Leisa Aitken knows how relationships work. She is a clinical psychologist with a Masters degree from the University of New South Wales. Her post-graduate training includes research into Bowen Family Systems (which explore couple, parent-child and individual relationships), as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). In short, she understands how your relationships impact on you, and what you can do to lessen the shock.