Sometimes life hits you with the hardest of realities, just so it can see how strong you really are from the inside and for how long can you brave the storms. More often than not, life then rewards you for it if you stood your ground.
But sometimes, it doesn't. It just simply doesn't, and that makes us undervalue ourselves and what we have accomplished till now. We start to develop feelings of worthlessness, and eventually anxiety takes over.
The thing is, we as humans don't really consider a work done to be successful unless we are rewarded for it in some way or the other. Reward is a sign for appreciating a job well-done, and if we don't receive it, we think our work wasn't good enough.
This applies especially to people who are involved in artistic or creative professions, and even though we have all been taught to never expect reward, we still crave for it deep inside, and for perfectly understandable reasons.
Reward helps keep you going and drives you into performing even better in the future as your hard work is appreciated and your honest efforts are noticed by others, or even by yourself.
Rewarding Yourself Isn't Selfish, But A Need
There are gonna be times when you know that you deserve to be rewarded for the work you have done, but you still wouldn't be, and that can leave you feeling drained, unappreciated, unnoticed, and unwilling to work.
But the good news is, reward doesn't necessarily has to come from other people. You can just reward yourself! It really is that simple, not to mention how it doesn't make you dependent on people's opinions of your efforts.
Some people may argue that it is selfish to do so, but that's just a load of crap. Rewarding yourself is a big part of self-love. It's important to realize that it is not a want, but an actual need.
We need reward so to please our minds and to know that we are gaining something out of all the hard work we have put in, doesn't matter if that reward is small and insignificant because the reward itself isn't exactly what we crave, but that feeling of being understood and recognized.
Honest Efforts Aren't Always Appreciated
The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and if you always keep expecting fairness from other people, disappointment is bound to come at some point and when it does, it hits hard.
This is the reason why you have to teach yourself how to reward yourself every once in a while. Think of it as an emotional fuel for your brain. If you're not rewarded, your brain thinks it's working for no reason, and eventually your performance degrades.
But there is a little twist in here too. Most people who reward themselves once, start doing it way too often. They fail to create a balance between work done and reward enjoyed, and eventually they do themselves more harm than good.
Rewarding Yourself Makes You Independent
Think about it. When you learn how to create that balance and know when and when not to reward yourself, it becomes easier to not expect appreciation from others as you are doing so yourself, making you independent.
The best part is, the reward can be anything. It can be a long break, a treat, a tasty dinner at a fancy restaurant, a hang-out with friends, or just straight-up being lazy in bed and watching your favourite Netflix shows.
Again, it is not selfish. It is merely a celebration of your own accomplishments. If all what you do is work, work, and work, and that too without any feelings of fulfillment, then all you're gonna get later is regret, regret, and regret.
But if you choose to create a balance, you can thrive on your own without depending on the approval and appraise of anyone else, and that's exactly what true independence is all about, isn't it?
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