I've recently started congratulating myself internally whenever I did something that was a net-positive for my life.

I live a great life but even so I feel so dead inside after a lifetime of chasing external validation, specifically from my father. No matter what I've accomplished, there was always something wrong from the perspective of my dad. At 23 I've done extremely well for myself and I need to start validating myself rather than look for water from a dry-well.

What strategies do you guys use?