Secretly seeking people's approval

HeyJKiefer wrote: What can I do to have more confidence in my own choices without looking to others for approval first?

Deliberate practice.

Decision-making is a skill set a person can learn, same as critical thinking or problem solving. You learn through practice, going from simple to more complex decisions. As an engineer you most certainly already have a number of decision-making models or frames you already use in your field. Learn them, apply them, develop and practice them. This will build your confidence.

Thank you for your feedback, Richard. I will certainly practice this more.

You are seeking approval because you are feeling apprehensive about taking your own risks. This is what academics teach people,, which unfortunately has nothing to do with real life. We learn best by making mistakes. Now, I am not saying you should strive to make mistakes that may put other people's lives at risk, but there are certain decisions you can make without the approval of others. And, think about it. What guarantees that those who give you their opinions are always right? You seeking their approval is just you avoiding personal responsibility. Everyone has struggled with this, and some struggle forever. The fact that you have recognized it is a major plus, so congrats! Welcome to real life. Do not be afraid to fail every once in a while. Those who've never failed have never really tried anteing new. So why live then?
We all want the authority to be pleased with us at some point or another. Strong people really don't care though. They have a strong sense of ethics and even stronger integrity to themselves and others, but to themselves first. It takes character, but also experience and willingness to take some risks, such as not always be liked by authority. And please don't forget that many people in positions of high authority break the rules the most. What does that tell you? It is not about authority at all. It is about integrity. You choose how you build your own authority through you personal strong values. Some of your values will inevitably change over time. But be truthful to yourself, and even if you are scared to commit to a decision you deem to be the right one, just accept the fear and do the right thing anyway. That's how you grow as a person.

Alex, thank you for your insight! It is greatly appreciated.

Start saying "Thank you" instead of saying "I'm sorry." Confidence springs from gratitude; hesitation springs from guilt. If you simply stop apologizing for living and having goals, and start appreciating the choices of others and the world you're part of, it will be easier for you to move forward on your own decisions.

As an example, let's say that you're late to a meeting. Normally, you're expected response is, "Sorry I'm late." Don't say this, ever. Instead, say, "Thank you for waiting." Look for reasons to be gracious in all situations. If a mugger beats you and robs you, you don't have to be thankful to him. But you can be thankful that you were only beaten and robbed, instead of murdered.

Judgements will undo your gratitude. Expecting others to say sorry is as bad as saying it yourself, no matter how bad what they did was. You will lose your confidence and clarity, and be immersed in murky and unpleasant feelings. It's difficult, because it seems as if the bad guys get away with everything if they go unjudged. It seems like you're letting the mugger go.

In practical fact, though, judgment does not ultimately prevent criminal behavior, nor does it properly reform criminals after the fact. Gratitude can do both, and the only cost you pay is that you don't allow yourself to despise others for their choices. More of a benefit than a cost, if you ask me.

As far as I know, that is the secret to confidence and equanimity; choose how you enjoy your life, and it will be easier for you to live.

What I'm going to say sounds easy but it really isn't.
What you have to do is be aware of when you are seeking the approval of others, in that moment make a conscious decision to change that stream of thinking. This, with time and practice will trick your mind into always anticipating that people will like your decisions.
Practice not depending on the outcome of any situation, don't be thinking, wanting and wishing for people to give you a good response to anything you do. Just believe wholeheartedly in your decisions, and with the confidence and your experience as an engineer your decisions will hold more weight with others.

Also, if sometimes you do make a wrong decision, use it as a learning experience, learn to appreciate your failures and even seek them out because the only way to get better at something and for your decisions to work out more often is experience, and failure is the way you get more experience.
This world we have right now was built with only 1 tool. Failure.

If you are seeking approval from others then there is something that you are not giving to yourself.

Find out what it is that you are seeking approval of from others. Is it so they acknowledge that you make good decisions? If this is true then you are probably not trust your own abilities to make decisions.

Work on this part and find a way to trust yourself. You will find out that you're not seeking approval anymore when you've fixed this.