The source of your happiness is in you. When you find yourself looking for approval, for acknowledgment, and even for identity outside of your own consciousness, you are putting yourself in harm’s way. We live in a world of projections. When you look for approval from someone else, you must know that what you get back is a result of what that person projects on you. That projection is a result of that person’s life experience and the wounding which comes with it.
If you ask an individual if you are intelligent, you can only get back an answer which is projected through that individual’s belief system. If that person believes that all intelligent people have a particular I.Q. score, then that is what will determine the answer you receive. It takes courage to be your own evaluator in matters like intelligence, but it is critical that you take over that role. You know about your strengths and weaknesses and you alone must decide how to use that knowledge well in your life. To honor your own voice and your own wisdom is the sign that you are creating a happy life.