Am I okay? What do people think of me? Should I be happy with myself? These self- questions highlight insecurity. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter walks us through the finer points of insecurity and presents to us true security.
Insecurities are common among all ages. While the things we seek security in change over time, the fact remains that security is a common human desire. Insecurity is helpful in this way. It highlights our desire for security and prompts us with a critical question, “What should my security be in?” Is it in my job, finances, relationships or looks? Just like financial securities, some are better than others, the securities we desire are not all equal. Who do we seek approval from? What is required for me to be happy with myself? Just how secure are these securities? Most often, we look to securities that are exterior to us-the affirmation of a group, the achievement of a goal. Wonderfully, God is that exterior security He wants us to be settled in. Because of God’s dependability, He is the security that is superior to all others.
Sometimes interactions are charged with emotion. Often, we react to the escalation only to make it worse. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer helps us let the steam out of the charged moment so we can have rational dialogue. The key to doing this is called “validation.”
Validation in interpersonal interactions.
What it is. | What it does. | What it looks like. | When do you use it? | What it is not. |
Accepting a person’s experience. | Deescalates charged emotional interactions. | Being curious about another person’s experience. | Heated disagreements. | Not reactive |
Joining someone in their experience. | Values another’s personhood. | Validating first, correcting second. | When strong negative emotions are present. | Not agreement |
Understanding a person’s emotional response. | Puts relationship first. | Showing a person that you “see them.” | When you are calm enough to listen. | Not avoiding |
| Builds connection. | Accept their response. |
| Not argumentative |
| Legitimatizes other’s response. |
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