Think of a major decision you’ve made recently: buying a house or car; choosing a school or continuing education class; asking someone for a date (or letting friends know you’re on the market).  Although you did research and solicited guidance from experts, still, was your decision largely impacted by the feeling that what you wanted was understood? And that you deserved the thing you wanted? Recall the details of one such decision. Think about all the exchanges leading up to feeling “understood.”  What validated feeling deserving of what you wanted? What clues did you get?  How did your feel throughout the process? What can you be grateful for in this situation?