It didn't happen until someone saw it.
You're driven by being seen — credited, admired, remembered. There's nothing shameful in it: you do your best work when it might matter to someone, and you make ordinary things feel like a moment. But the Eye notices the trap too. When the room empties, the drive can empty with it, and you start choosing the win that gets noticed over the one that's yours. The applause is real. So are you, in the quiet. Don't outsource that.
Get your read — free on iPhoneyou've done something great and felt nothing until the first person reacted. the work isn't finished, to you, until it's witnessed.