How to Deal with the Need for Approval: Lessons from One Piece

*Please note that this article contains some spoilers for the 'One Piece: Wano Country Arc', so please be careful if you haven't seen it yet.

Embarrassingly, I finally finished watching the Wano Country arc of One Piece the other day. I know, you're probably thinking, 'Only now?' (laughs). But wow, the visuals were incredible.

And I was shocked when I finished it...
Of course, Gear 5 was surprising, but I was most amazed by Luffy's mentality.

I realized that Luffy is completely free from the need for approval!

That is what I realized.

The Wano Country arc concludes with Luffy defeating Kaido.
Since Kaido is one of the Four Emperors, defeating him is a massive achievement. Normally, it would be natural to go around bragging about it.

However, Luffy says to Momonosuke, the Shogun of Wano,
'Don't tell the people of Wano that I defeated Kaido.'
Can you believe it? I would be telling everyone, but he doesn't...

Furthermore, his reason is,
'What the people of Wano really need is the story that the samurai, led by Momonosuke, defeated Kaido.'
He says something to that effect.

It was such an act of altruism that I was truly surprised. Luffy is so cool.

And I felt that this episode contains hints on how to face or overcome the need for approval. That is,

when you try to accomplish something, keep your purpose firmly in mind and do not waver.

I felt that this is important.

The reason is that in the background of Luffy's statement mentioned above, it is clear from his words that defeating Kaido was just a means, and saving Wano was always his primary purpose.

'I will make Wano a country where people can eat until they are full!'
This statement is one example.

And I think that when he talks about saving Wano, he is not just referring to the physical sense, but also to the people living in Wano being saved mentally.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden the fact that he defeated Kaido to give the credit to the samurai.
It seems he judged that it would be better for the people of Wano if it were believed that the samurai had stepped up and defeated Kaido. Oda-sensei is truly amazing.

In the real world, it might be difficult to be as conscious of achieving goals as Luffy, and to be as thorough in treating means simply as means.
However, if you are struggling with a strong desire for approval, it might be helpful to ask yourself the following questions.

What are you seeking approval for?
Isn't that just a means to an end?

One Piece is a great example, but there really is so much we can learn from manga.