Most of the time we secretly seek acknowledgement for our work.
It is a deeply human quality to expect to be recognized.
The downside of this though is that we do not find it meaningful to do something that might not get us recognition.

But imagine this. When you visit a clean neighborhood, a well tended garden or have a delicious meal at a restaurant, you do not know the person who made this experience worthwhile. But you still acknowledge the deed as done by someone kind.

If we could all scale this up and work for the sake of goodness,
Then we could applaud whole of humanity for its conduct.