Humans want and seek recognition.

I also remember how my father told me never to ask for it. He reasoned that asking for it would transform its validity. He didn’t trust others to remain authentic while giving recognition, and wanted it to be spontaneous.

He was probably right in his desire for it to be authentic. But he probably missed out on noticing how the recognition he was imagining remained linked to other people’s expectations.

We’ve been taught to look for recognition, but are confused by its link to other people’s expectations. As a result, we aim to fulfill other people’s expectations instead of doing what is right for us. That is what we would recognize for ourselves, as it is what we wanted to create.

The latter is the only option that allows us to know when recognition would be fitting.