‘T is very tragically so…

… that people are liable to take for their bible… that what they crave most’s a no-show; the average Pleaser prays for praise, whereas the typical Caesar lusts after love.
By the same token, the one strongly believes he or she lacks “likes“, while the other’s convinced he or she never knew honest affection.

Now, their tragedy is that reality, the way things actually are, is not necessarily stronger than their perception of it, and… they live unhappily ever after.