Independence, Confidence, and Seeking Approval

I've always been an independent person. Always. Somehow, being almost 26 years old with 2 kids, a husband, and a cross country move under my belt; I find myself constantly seeking others' approval. Even from people that I have never met. What the crap?
I'm a good mother, I'm a great wife, and I'm a decent human being. Those are 3 facts that I am sure of. So why do I care so much about how others see me? I try not to complain about life, more specifically the stressful things in my life; private matters should stay private. But I admit, there's a green monster inside that wants the recognition from other people. Some dark part of me wants other people to say "hey, you work hard, you do a good job, and you deserve a break from time to time". But I feel like I don't get that, and I won't get that because I don't make my a lot of my personal business public.
I can't say that from here on out I'm not going to seek others' approval, but I can say that its time to stifle that green monster, and maybe she'll shrink back into the shadows where she belongs.
Its time for my confidence in myself to reappear, and grow, and help set an example for my son and my daughter. If I'm going to be successful its going to be on my own merits, my accomplishments; and not on the ata-boys that I don't see myself ever getting.
I'm going to tap the well of self-reliance that I've always had deep down inside, and I'm going to ultimately drown that green monster along with the creatures named "self doubt", "self pity", and most importantly "I can't". Damn it, I can and I will.

On a much more positive note, for those of you who've been keeping up with my ups and downs; my mom and I have had some amazingly positive conversations, and I'm very very hopeful that we're getting back a relationship that is better and stronger than it was before. Love you Mom!