The document describes a man named T.O. who stresses about what others think of him. At a lunch with new friends, he dodges questions and avoids talking about himself and his interests for fear of being judged as weird. He realizes he bases his self-worth too much on gaining approval from others. To overcome this stress, he needs to remember his true value does not depend on others' opinions. Writing down why he has value regardless of what people think could help him act with more courage to be himself.

1. Yeah...uh..zero taxes for
everybody!
Please vote for
me. Please..
How I Stress About What People Think
Like a Politician Before the Vote

2. Hi there! I’m T.O.

3. Since I moved to Austin this year,
I’ve met a lot of cool people..

4. But my stress usually prevents
me from totally being myself

5. ...especially when I’m in a group

6. And so, during a delicious Tex-Mex
lunch with my new friends…

7. I dodged questions like a politician..

8. While awaiting our tacos,
my friend Arthur asked..
So, what have you
been up to?

9. And I want to say..
I’ve been working on Roadmap --
an app I’m building to help people
grow in character

10. But..
What if I
can’t pitch
it well?
And.. what
if they don’t
get it?

11. So instead.. Uh..I’ve been playing
some basketball.
You?
Think of
something
normal!

12. As our food arrived, my
friend Ashley said..
Guys, can I take pictures of
your food for my food
blog?

13. And I want to say..
Cool! You blog? I write a blog
that helps people grow in
character! We should talk!

14. What if
they think
I’m weird?
I mean, I write
about emotions.
And I’m a MAN..But..

15. Sure, I’ll help you take
the picture!
Think!
think!
So instead..

16. And the questions got
deeper..
So, do you think you’ll
be at your current job
for awhile?

17. And I want to say..
Yes! But I want to build a company
that helps people grow in character.
That why I work on Roadmap..

18. What if they
think that’s
stupid?
Like ‘ohh great, an
“entrepreneur” ’
But..

19. Yep! I think I’ll be there
awhile
So instead..
Just..just
scrap it!

20. But after every meal, I feel
a part of myself chip away.

21. Until people don’t really
know me..

22. I need a way to beat this
stress before I forget who
I am too..

23. What if they think
I’m weird?
Ok..so “What does Stressed
T.O. want?”

24. Stressed T.O. wants
people to like him
Nothing wrong with that!
Please vote for
me. Please..
Nice suit!

25. What if they think
I’m weird? Desire:
Approval
But..why is he SO WORRIED
about their approval?

26. If I don’t get
elected, I’ll be
ruined..
Stressed T.O is worried because..
He’s based his value on what
other people think
Is he sweating?

27. Can I even do
that?
And so, he says only what
people will like
Yeah...uh..zero taxes for
everybody!
Is he for real?

28. But our value isn’t based on
others’ approval..right?

29. Maybe I just forgot where my
value actually comes from

30. So if I want to beat
him, I’ll need to..

31. REMEMBER MY TRUE VALUE:
Write down why I am valuable even if others don’t approve

32. When we remember our value, we can
stop campaigning for approval
Yep. I’m a weird guy.
So what?

33. What if they
don’t like this?
Of course, we’ll still think
about if people like us

34. What if they
don’t like this?
But we’ll also have the
courage to be ourselves..
But my value
isn’t based on
their opinion!

35. Recap
If I campaign for approval, I’ll always
stress about the polls
But courage is a platform for genuine
votes
So, write down why you are valuable
even if others don’t approve. Read it
over when you’re stressing

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Hope this helps! See
you next week!