Self soothing

What I've found throughout all of my years of studying is that we have a constant need to prove that wee have tried hard. We prove that we have thought about the mathematics calculation by writing down our workings, even if we can do it mentally. We prove that we've done the research for a project because we photocopied the book we read. Why do we need to prove that we're working? Surely it will be evident in the quality of our work? We don't need a bulging sketchbook and bags of newspaper clippings to prove ourselves to anyone. (Sounding a bit defensive I know!)

I noticed this recently in my primary one class which I volunteer to help with. I was helping a young girl to read (it was so amazing I can't even deescribe it) and after every sentence she'd look to me so that I could say "yep, that's right well  done". Now, I'd never deny a 5 year old girl the satisfaction of knowing she can read because I was so enthusastic I couldn't help but shower her with praise. What I'm interested in is knowing if we will ever stop being praised and what will happen then? Will we stop trying or will we just adapt to a new way of thinking for ourselves?
I've recently been thinking a lot about this and have had many conversations about the topic and struggles of research with different people. It's interesting to find that many of us still feel tht we have to prove our enthusiasm to our peers, collegues, elders just so we can get that feeling of accomplishment when somebody says "bloody hell, you've done a lot of work there!" Obviously I still want that, we all love a bit of praise now and then but maybe being confident in your own knowledge and learning would be just as nice? I'd like to get on that path towards inner confidence in my practice. We must realise that we're not always going to have somebody looking over your shoulder as your write in your sketchbook to say "good work". However this is not to say that we will be constantly alone with our thoughts with no insight from others. Just as a baby learns to sleep on it's own, maybe sometimes we have to self soothe.