Alain De Botton, philosopher and author of “The Architecture of Happiness,” revealed a question every parent should ask their child to determine if they’re a good parent.
In a recent podcast episode of 20VC with host Harry Stebbings, uploaded on Nov. 18, the philosopher discussed how you can find out if you raised a confident child by asking them whether they want to be famous.
“A marker of good parenting is that your child doesn’t have any wish to be famous,” De Botton confessed to Stebbings.
The expert explained that children who don’t desire a life of fame have enough internal validation that they don’t need to seek it externally.
“They are not seeking to be known by strangers,” he added. “They can be content to be known by a small circle of people that they actually know back.”
Children who desire public recognition rely on a broadcast system rather than a two-way relationship.
De Botton claims people seeking fame hope to gain respect and love from their popularity.
However, the opposite feelings can often be discovered for famous people, such as envy, insecurity, and backlash.
Many people found his perspective insightful to their behavior while some admitted the revelation hits too close to home.
“That explains a lot,” confessed one person. “It all makes sense now.”
“Bro just called my mom out,” gasped one person.
“Damn, just clocked all of us,” shared another.
“Oh, man. I always wanted to be a star. Explains everything,” wrote a watcher.
Meanwhile, others resonate with the feeling of not wanting the external validation that comes with fame.
“I’ve been criticized my whole life and would rather not have the whole world do that to me, too,” commented a watcher.
“I just want to be rich and unknown,” added another.
“Internal validation is golden,” declared a TikToker.
