Those who are greedy of praise prove that they are poor in merit.

A strong appetite for praise usually signals that something inside is not settled. When the work is solid, approval is pleasant rather than necessary, and when it is thin, applause has to do the job the work is not doing. Other people can feel that hunger in a conversation even when they could not name it.

Notice how you feel when a piece of your work goes unremarked. If the answer is worse than mild disappointment, put the attention back into the work itself for a while. Being able to do good work unnoticed is what makes praise worth having when it comes.