Here's how you know somebody's personal growth is fake,
like not real. And it's a simple but powerful idea
by Eckhart Tolle, who made the argument that if you're
trying to grow, make sure it's not for your ego.
Or in his words, "The ego's greatest addiction is admiration."

And what he meant by that is most people who think they're
growing are actually just feeding their ego.
In other words most people are not growing for the sake
of growth. They're growing for admiration and validation.
And there's a danger in that. It was articulated by Harriet
Braiker, the clinical psychologist who once said:
"seeking validation is like trying to fill up a bucket
that has a hole in it." And what she meant is fake personal
growth, based on a need for validation will never be satisfying.
This is why fake personal growth has to Always brag.
It has to Always perform. It's loud. It has to make others
feel inferior, but vice versa real personal growth is often
times quiet. It's often times internal. And when it is shared,
it's to lift others up, not make the other person feel superior.
Abraham Maslow captured this real growth when he said, "real
growth feels more internally satisfying with every step that
you take." And what he meant by that is that real personal
growth feels good on the inside. Fake personal growth, it just
looks good on the outside. That's how you know somebody's
personal growth is fake. When it feeds their ego rather than
feeding their inner peace.

nevernsubermony