Seeking attention and validation? Over my life I've realized that my behavior has always been set to the point of wanting attention and validation. A lot of times it's subtle, like the way I move or speak. But other times I find myself shouting out inappropriate jokes and sometimes making a fool of myself, kind of a comedian thing. And sure people laugh, but a lot of the time, I feel as though I'm not being honest to myself when I act in this way. And sometimes think back that "damn, that kind of was stupid." 

On the other hand, when I try to control myself (like being mindful) I become completely quiet and introverted. Almost like I got 2 extremes- silent and outlandish. 

Did the Buddha ever speak of anything regarding this? Thoughts?
Great question. Sure, Buddhism speaks about seeking praise and fame. The reason we seek praise and fame (to which seeking attention and validation is very similar) is because they give us a sort of energy, they pump us up. In modern terms, they trigger the reward mechanism in our brain, which produces dopamine, the happy hormone.

Now, according to Buddhism, this is not the right way to get energy. This way of getting energy makes us dependent on our (projected) image in the eyes of others. This image, also known as "ego" then gets its own life of sorts and makes us do crazy things, like being a comedian you mention, in order to get its "fix". Needless to say, having a big ego makes one very vulnerable to the opinions of others, very emotionally unstable.

Instead, Buddha said (SN 22.43): 


  Monks, be islands (alt. trans. lamps) unto yourselves, be your own refuge, having no other; let the Dhamma be an island(/lamp) and a refuge to you, having no other.


Initially, this means crosschecking our choices and actions against the Dharma and the opinions "of the wise" - instead of trying to get attention and validation from everyone around. This process of crosschecking everything against the reference point of Dharma/guru/elders is called "mindfulness". Taking Buddha (as the role model), Dharma (as the conceptual framework), and Sangha (of elder practitioners, as confirmation/validation) as your reference point for all decision making is called "taking the refuge". For as long as you are on the path, the Triple Gem becomes your source of praise and validation, your source of energy.

Eventually, we should develop our own wisdom to see what's right and our own mental/emotional stability to the point where we can be independent of others as far as our energy. Basically we become egoless - meaning, we can now stop worrying about our image in the eyes of others, because we have completely internalized Dharma, we become the proverbial "wise" and "worthy".

When that happens, attaining the second Jhana occurs spontaneously, since you have now rid yourself of the perpetual conflict between differing opinions and can truly become your own source of clarity, praise and energy.