August 19, 2025
Severing the Need to Be Liked
The desire for approval is one of the subtlest chains on the path to self-sovereignty. It looks like humility. Sounds like kindness. Even mimics emotional intelligence. But beneath it all? Fear. Of rejection. Of being seen as wrong. Or worse—unworthy.
It distorts decision-making, dilutes authenticity, and quietly enforces conformity.
WHERE DOES THE NEED FOR APPROVAL COME FROM?
The craving for approval is conditioned early. In childhood, we’re rewarded for compliance and punished, often subtly, for disobedience or nonconformity. We learn to monitor others’ reactions constantly—from parents and teachers to peers.
In religious systems, this impulse becomes spiritualized: being “good” means being liked by authority, God, or the group. Dissent becomes equated with sin, pride, or selfishness. Even after we reject these systems, the approval reflex remains.
APPROVAL VS. ALIGNMENT
A key distinction must be made:
Approval is externally granted. It demands constant performance, people-pleasing, and adaptation.
Alignment is internally forged. It requires discernment, integrity, and sovereignty.
Luciferianism seeks alignment through making choices that reflect your core values—even when they are unpopular.
To sever the need to be liked is to risk being misunderstood or disliked for the sake of remaining true. This is not cruelty; it is clarity. From this clarity, deeper respect—not superficial approval—can arise.
FROM PLEASING TO PRESENCE
When we release the compulsion to be liked, a profound transformation occurs: we become more present. We listen more honestly, speak more clearly, and live more deliberately. We stop trying to manage others’ perceptions and start refining our own perception.
In the Luciferian path, this is essential. A true Adept does not chase consensus—they shape reality from the inside out.
Severing the need to be liked doesn’t make you antisocial—it makes you real. When we stop filtering our truth through the eyes of others, we begin to see ourselves with greater precision.