HOW DO YOU RECEIVE COMPLIMENTS?

OCT 7, 2020

Compliments. Do you receive them well? Respond with a thank you?

Or, instead do you respond with “oh this dress is so old” or “oh, I just didn’t blow dry my hair today and let it dry naturally” Basically, in a way, diminishing the compliment you’ve received. I used to do that. Diminish a compliment with a response like the above. I never even really gave it notice until one day at work this scenario played out, which then started a conversation between a group of us about how we can never just take the compliment. There’s always some way of responding to diminish the compliment, instead of accepting it and just saying "thank you".

Why is it we do that? Is it being uncomfortable with the “attention” a compliment gives? Have we been taught that receiving a compliment with just a “thank you” is considered conceited? Whatever it is, just stop it. From the day of that conversation forward, I haven't diminished a compliment received. I always respond with a smile and a thank you. Sometimes my "thank you" response catches people off guard, just goes to show how accustomed we are to complimenting someone and getting some sort of explanation or dismissal to the compliment. Saying thank you to a compliment is so foreign. Compliments are meant to make you feel good, so fucking take that compliment with you ALL day! You're allowed to have a compliment make you feel good without the stigma of that being conceited.

Oh, and don’t forget to compliment those around you. I often just always thought “oh, they look so nice today” but never proceeded to say it out loud. That’s stopped too, I compliment often, even stranger's sometimes.