Accolades

It never ceases to astound me how I can be thinking about something early in the day and events transpire which relate to that.  It happened today.
I was thinking about the reason things are done.  It really does not matter to me if I get accolades from people.  They are always really nice to get and especially when they come from someone who has been there done that, they help me to know if I am on the right track or not.
But honestly, the praise of others is not why I do things.  I do them because I feel to do so.  I sure appreciate accolades from everyone, but the ones that are most important to me are the ones I give myself, and the ones that come from who I really want to impress.  Anything beyond that is a bonus.
Just the other day someone was telling me about the accolades they received.  That would be great I reckon except it was their idea.  The person to me deserved the accolades, but I could not help getting the impression they meant an inordinate amount to him.
I could think it was an aberration, but it is a regular thing for that person.  In no way can I set myself up, and I imagine that if circumstances were different it may mean more to me than it does.  I just know that for the last 50 years or so, it has not been that way.
What matters most to me is I am doing what I feel to do, and I am satisfied with how I am doing.  If I am not, then I am generally the first to tell me.  Generally, until such a time, I will continue to do what I am doing and the way I am doing it.
There is no doubt the praise of people matters but the praise of me matters more.  I mostly know when something is deserved or not.  For me there are few things worse than someone saying I did a good job when I know I did not.
Praising someone is important to me, but I always feel the praise needs to be genuinely deserved.  That is really easy.  Just about everyone does stuff where recognition is deserved.  Sometimes just getting out of bed is a win.  I try to find something to praise in just about every interaction I have.  Pulling down happens all the time.  I don’t reckon we need more.  For me, finding the positive is a worthwhile exercise.
It seems I am like everyone (though that is a matter of opinion). I love getting praise, but that is not why I do things.  It’s a bonus.