Approval
Self-esteem and validation are two ends of the same stick called “approval”.
Be careful which you seek.
Seeking validation (approval by others) runs the risk of losing your self-esteem (approving of yourself).
Only you can give your self-esteem away, it can’t be taken from you.
And, if you nurture your self-esteem and take care of it, you don’t feel the need for validation.
So, which should you work on?
Self-esteem or validation?
Knowledge
If you don’t know what you don’t know, what do you really know at all?