The act of accomplishing a thing should be enough.
Why do people need the prestige to be satisfied?
Isn’t the act of accomplishing something, of creating something meaningful enough?
Take NBA legend Kobe Bryant for instance.
In the early years of his professional career, he wanted all of the lights to shine on him.
He wanted credit for every success his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, achieved.
When the Lakers won a three-peat in 2000, 2001 and 2002, where they won three NBA championship titles consecutively, he wanted the world to know that he was the reason they won and that they should’ve showered him with more praise, not his teammate Shaquille O’Neal, who won Finals MVP in all three of the series.
The act of putting in hard work and winning the championships wasn’t enough for Kobe when they should’ve sufficiently satisfied him.
As Marcus Aurelius says in Meditations:
“Does anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing? No more than justice does—or truth, or kindness, or humility. Are any of those improved by being praised? Or damaged by contempt? Is an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires it? Or gold, or ivory, or purple? Lyres? Knives? Flowers? Bushes?”
Would the praise and prestige have made Kobe any more satisfied with his accomplishments early in his career? Or would he have asked for more?
This is why you shouldn’t do things for praise and prestige because you will never get enough. You will never be able to satiate your hunger. You will never please your ego.
Rather, you should be content that you were able to complete something challenging. Pat yourself on your shoulder and be happy with what you just did.
And if that’s not enough for you, try to complete something more difficult.
Compete with yourself and congratulate yourself for doing awesome things; don’t seek external praise.
This will make you happier and more pleasant to be around.