Oft Overlooked

In today's society, sometimes it seems like no matter what you do or how good you try to be, nobody notices. All you seem to get for your troubles are complaints about what you did wrong when trying to help, or comments like "Now why can't you do that more often?"
Whatever happened to "Thank you," anyway?
This can be depressing sometimes, after you pour hours into something and the only comment you get is something like "Finally!" or "I think you should rewrite the second paragraph." But you know what I've discovered? If you do it for yourself, and no one else, then it doesn't matter whether or not anyone else notices, really. What matters is that you did it, and you feel good about doing it, and you feel good for making a positive difference in the world. That's the really important thing.
What it all comes down to is whether or not you can bear to look at the person in the mirror at the end of the day. And if you can smile at that person, and genuinely mean it (because the person in the mirror always knows if you're lying), then isn't that worth all the trouble?
I am my own worst critic, and living with the person in the mirror is something that I have to learn to deal with. And I've discovered that if I do things to satisfy that person, instead of myself, then my life is a whole lot easier, and I find myself easier to live with. Because I can smile at the person in the mirror.
I can be privately proud to be me.