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Chapter 3

Validate Other People

To validate someone means to acknowledge and accept that person’s thoughts, feelings, ideas and experiences without judging or trying to change the individual.

To live a dignified life, you should learn to validate people for their talents, hard work, thoughtfulness, and the help they render to you or your loved ones. Be generous with praise. Give recognition to people for their contributions, ideas and experiences.

One of the options we often have in any problem situation is that of acceptance. Validation is one way of communicating acceptance of yourself and other people.

Validation does not mean agreeing with an individual or approving of their action. When your friend or a family member, for instance, makes a decision that you do not think is wise, validation is one way of supporting them and strengthening the relationship while at the same time maintaining a different opinion.

Validation is a way of telling someone else that your relationship with them is important and solid even when you disagree with them on some matters. It is recognising and accepting another person's thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviours as understandable.

Self-validation, on the other hand, is the recognition and acceptance of your own thoughts, feelings, sensations and actions as understandable.

HOW TO VALIDATE SOMEONE

Validation involves recognising someone's feelings and acknowledging them as important. In any healthy relationship, it is important to validate someone's feelings when they are upset. You may start by listening and responding in simple terms. From there, you can try to empathise as much as possible.