Here is a litte rant about something I’ve mulled over in my mind for a while now but never really tried to articulate: why the hell do we find it so hard to accept compliments from people?

More than that, why is it considered normal to blush and act all surprised and shy when you receive a compliment which, actually, you are quite enjoying and probably deserve?

Here’s the thing: I know what I am good at. I know I can write, sing, draw and act. I know I’m a fast learner and that I am good at staying positive and, on days when I bother, I can look pretty good too. So my ethos is that if you compliment me about one of the above, I’m going to accept that compliment.

Sure, I won’t be all “Oh yeah, I know. I’m so brilliant.” Because that would just be stupid. But if you passed a compliment about something I kinda knew I was decent at, I would say you were lovely for saying so, smile, and thank you for it. Then I would let that compliment make me happy for however long I think about it. Because I realize that giving compliments doesn’t come naturally to everybody. They’re something you actually have to make an effort with. So it’s nice to know that effort’s being made on me.

Being somebody who enjoys giving people compliments they deserve and seeing them smile, I also know it can be quite annoying when you tell somebody who’s a really good dancer that they’re, well, a really good dancer, and they bumble and say something along the lines of “Me? Really? Shut up. Whatever. That is so not true.” This reaction makes me:
a) Feel the need to give you another compliment, which you will inevitably deny, which will lead to another compliment, which you will deny again, which will lead to a third and so on until I have to start making up shit to compliment you on. It’s annoying and
b) Make a mental note not to compliment you again in the future to save myself the trouble.

So there you go. When somebody pays you a compliment, don’t argue. Just smile and thank them for saying it.