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Comment by DVassallo | Hacker News Reader

I think a valid question to ask yourself is: Why do you want to be recognized?

I believe recognition/praise/rewards/etc are not conducive to lasting satisfaction. They feel good for a while, but wear off quickly. OTOH, choosing not to pursue these things is very liberating, and helps you detach your satisfaction from things outside your control.

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Did you read the article? This is pretty explicitly about performance reviews at your job, either manager or peer based. Most people would want to be recognized so that they can keep their job and possibly get a raise. Maybe you float above us mere mortals and are not victim to such petty things as job stability and wages to support your family. For the rest of us this kind of practical advice could be very helpful.

Yes I read the article.

It depends on what you want. Satisfaction and peace of mind, or an endless chase for the next reward/recognition/promotion/raise/etc? If the latter, than it’s very important to be effective at getting your work recognized. But if the former, why bother?

Most people would bother with this because they are not in the position to quit a $500k/year job and brag about it everywhere. Most people don't subscribe to existential nihilism and need to pay their bills so they can feed their children and afford better living conditions. Surely this career advice applies to them as much as to elitist coastal software engineers. In all the spare time you have not chasing meaningless and temporary satisfaction, maybe try developing some humility and empathy.

Obviously money/status matters a lot, but only up to a certain point. Are you able to feed your children right now? Are you paying your bills? If yes, how does getting a raise help with that? You can’t feed your children twice. My point is that we sometimes keep chasing these external rewards without knowing how much is enough. It’s hard to find lasting satisfaction when nothing is ever enough.

If you literally have problems feeding your children, you might want to change employers, or, if opportunities are that slim where you are, change field of endeavour completely.

If you don't mean it literally, there's no reason to conjure up an "elite" spectre and create a false argument against that to engage with the gp.

Because when the time for performance reviews comes around, you want to be able to have information to fill in your self-evaluation. It can be difficult to remember what you accomplished 3 months ago, especially if you have writing anxiety or are habitually inclined to lack confidence in yourself. If you hand in an empty self-evaluation, it can lead to you getting fired. This is a pretty big threat to peace-of-mind, so its worth putting some effort into avoiding it.

Source: This happened to me several months ago. It was very distressing for my wife and I.

In many disfunctional orgs with disconnected managers, showing one’s value isn’t necessarily about getting a promotion, but remaining employed.

Additionally, being respected by your managers isn’t just about a better salary. It is about having more power to choose tasks you want to do.

Fair point. Note that I didn't say you should never try to get recognition; Only to consider if that's really important for you.

I have done this over the last few years and my happiness and content level in life has gone up dramatically. I have more time for my family and to pursue my hobbies. The problem is that it is a maverick move and goes against social expectations - one is seen as unambitious, unmotivated and passionless. Even my dad was like - WTF is wrong with you?

Agree. I took my a few years to convince myself that it's okay to be ambitionless, have no goals, and to not care about maximizing my potential.

In some circumstances, your objective might require that you attain some rank in the organization in order to control a resource. In such cases, attaining rank may be in and of itself a necessary step in the process of accomplishing your thoroughly rank-unrelated objective.

True. It’s like with income/wealth. It’s very important to reach a certain level. But beyond that level the benefits of getting more diminish quickly.

Why are “get satisfaction from recognition” and “get satisfaction from things within your control” presented here as exclusive options? It seems fully viable to feel satisfaction from more than one source; why not get recognized for my work and cultivate internal sources of satisfaction?

Because it doesn’t last. You get a short burst of happiness when you get recognized, but it goes away quickly. Then you start seeking new recognition to make up for the void, and before you know it you’re on an endless treadmill without ever attaining lasting satisfaction.

I can agree with your point about the satisfaction, but the other effects of recognition are long lasting; in the long run the "investments" in building up reputation pay off in various ways that make your life and relationships with others easier.

In the long run, a strong reputation (caused by this recongition) generally gives you more influence, flexibility and autonomy; and it's well-researched that those factors improve job satisfaction.

I feel like I addressed this in my comment, but my point is that “getting satisfaction from recognition” and “getting satisfaction internally” are not mutually exclusive.

It’s also not sustainable for me to eat at fancy restaurants for every meal, but that doesn’t mean I need to avoid ever eating at fancy restaurants. It means I should account for multiple sources of food.

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