Idolatry without Consent: Fueling the Validation Economy

Jan 1

We're living in a validation economy-where attention is measurable, approval is public, and absence feels loud. In that system, power stops being informational and starts being personal. That's where fixation begins.

This episode continues last week's conversation on power + projection, and takes it one layer deeper: how people accidentally turn leaders, mentors, communities, and "access" into idols—and why it almost always ends the same way: admiration → entitlement → rupture → villain.

We break down the neuroscience behind why social platforms (and modern business culture) amplify childhood wounds through intermittent reinforcement, and how that reward schedule trains your nervous system to scan, chase, and attach. Then we unpack the psychological mechanics that drive the spiral:

Salience assignment (one person becomes
"outsized" in your mind)
Relief coupling (their attention lowers your tension; their absence spikes it)
Meaning inflation (neutral signals become threatening)

You'll also learn what I call idolatry without consent— when your expectations were never agreed to, but your nervous system acts like a contract exists anyway. That's when disappointment hardens into moral certainty, and the idol becomes the abuser overnight.

I'm also giving you:

5 signs you're slipping into fixation
ELI questions to expose the blind spot before it costs you relationships, identity, or credibility (click HERE to download the PDF)
5 ways leaders can buffer damage early (roles, expectations, boundaries, and direct correction)

If you're chasing proximity, visibility, or approval to feel safe-this episode will confront you. If you've been on the receiving end of someone else's fixation—this episode will protect you.

Because eventually, idolatry requires a villain. So stop building pedestals you'll later want to burn down.