Anubhav Jain wrote:

A pigeon laid eggs on a Banyan tree.

Three little baby pigeons hatched from the little eggs.

Mother pigeon loved them and took good care of them.

She was a wise bird, before teaching her kids how to fly, she taught them the basics of survival, especially how to deal with other strong animals.

One day while mother pigeon was out to get food, a dog arrived on the ground beneath the tree.

The little baby birds caught his eye and he felt hungry.

Going up wasn't possible for him thus he tried to lure them with his words.

He barked at them-

“Hey you unworthy little birds, why are you resting in a nest? Can't you fly? Or maybe you don't know how to fly, hahaha”

The little babies didn't reply.

He barked again and said-

“Prove me that you can fly, take a jump, or I will assume that your mother is a failure and couldn’t even teach you the basics of being a bird”

The little birds had learned to fly but were still not confident to not fall.

Finally one of the birds replied-

“We don't fly to prove our flying skills to any unworthy animal, we fly for ourselves, to get food, to build a nest, to enjoy. Though you are free to show off your barking skills”

The dog kept barking for half an hour but didn't get any further replies.

Finally, he went away, in search of some rotten meat, left by a carnivore.

When the little kids narrated the incident to their mother, she hugged them and had tears of happiness in her eyes.

Proving yourself to someone means-

1. That person believes that you are unworthy.

2. You are reaffirming their belief by trying to prove yourself to them.

3. Your goals are being guided by their doubts.

4. You may make wrong decisions in aggression and rush to prove yourself.
You may waste your precious time and energy.

Live for yourself, prove whatever you need to prove to yourself and not to others!

Or you will end up being prey to someone's ill desires.