Validation: It’s Not Just for Parking Tickets

I was reading an aspiring writer’s profile when I was struck by the answer she had given to the question of why she wished to join a critique group. It was a mere one-word response, yet it struck me as incredibly profound; so much so, I imagined a light bulb appeared above my head announcing my epiphany.
Her stated reason for joining: validation. Although she believed her writing to be good, she sought the consensus of others to reaffirm that belief.
No matter how much we hold ourselves in hig...