We have an unending wish for being appreciated for everything we do. Whether it is cooking a special dish (or sometimes even the daily routine dish) or completing an official task diligently, we want to be given credit. The childlike expectations arise, and we want the world to applaud us. But what if our childlike wish is not fulfilled? This blog tries to explore the shortcomings of always wishing to be appreciated and how we can handle it diligently.

The world may not appreciate you all the time

You may be doing your best, but the irony is all people may not appreciate you for your efforts. They may have different reasons for not appreciating. You would get upset at this point and may even start doubting your ability just because they didn’t give credit to your efforts. This is one of the difficult parts of expecting people to pat you on the back every time.

Expecting appreciation all the time can pave the way for anxiety

Yes, don’t you second this? When you always want people to appreciate you, you will always be in an anxiety mode. You want others to praise you all the time and become perturbed when they don’t. With the course of time you start thinking why people are not giving credit to my genuine efforts and this may even lead to the thinking, “I am right and everyone is wrong”. You stop seeing yourself from a critical eye and even begin to justify your actions. This may even lead to depression when not treated at the initial stage itself.

Here comes the role of working for a cause

All the anxieties caused by wanting too much appreciation can be overcome when you understand that working for a cause is the ultimate road to long-term serenity. When you work for a cause, you keep doing your best constantly and always try to become the best version of yourself. You no longer seek the approval of others for each and every thing you do nor do you want them to appreciate you all the time. You understand that appreciation is a secondary (not a primary) trigger of your action and not the element that drives you to work. Whether people appreciate you or not, your morale is boosted because you keep doing your best.

Take-home message

The essence of this blog is not to underestimate our desire to be appreciated. Let me take an example here. Even at workplace, there is an organized way of appreciation. That comes through the form of performance appraisal. In between if seniors appreciate you for your work, that is their magnanimity. But the main factor is what the management says about you during the appraisal. All such appraisals are existing because human beings deserve to be credited for their work. But again, we should not be preoccupied with the thought of working for applause. The journey of working for a cause is enduring.