I was just about to shovel a forkful of pasta into my mouth when I felt the tap on my shoulder… ‘I just had to tell you how much I love your hair!’ The beaming woman said. ‘Oh! Thanks!’ I responded. And, before I could help myself… ‘I need to get my roots done though. Greys are on show!’
Honestly, why do we do that?
As people, what part of us feels that we have to downplay our achievements like that?
I’m sure I’m not alone in this. Come on, show of hands. Who also does this when someone pays them a compliment? About anything – your appearance, your intellect, your talent!
The trouble is, it’s a hard habit to break out of.
But, it is possible!
There’s no magic answer though. Just so you know. It’s just a case of doing the uncomfortable thing and a bit of willpower, I’m afraid. Try it. Next time someone pays you a compliment, make your only response: ‘Thank you!’ That’s it. No downplaying, no belittling, no deflection. Just a simple thank you and carry on with your day.
The first few times you do it will feel AWFUL. I guarantee it. Cringe-worthy even. You’ll feel your skin prickle and crawl. As the complimenter turns away, you’ll feel yourself want to say something more. BUT DON’T!
Truthfully, they are not expecting you to. Think about it. Whenever you pay someone else a compliment, are you secretly hoping that they’ll say, ‘Oh, this old thing? I paid a dollar for it at a thrift store!’ or ‘Thanks! It was actually my friend who made it!’ I’m betting not. I’m sure the reason you’re paying them a compliment is because you genuinely do like what you’re complimenting and you want that person to know it and feel good about it, right?
Then there’s a pretty good chance that’s what people who pay you compliments want for you too. So just accept the compliment! Enjoy how it makes you feel. And move on with your day.
As an aside, I love little things like this and I always try to pay the feeling forward. Partly because it’s a nice thing to do and also because I like how it makes me feel too, to make someone else feel good about themselves!
Which actually leads me to another point… shouting about our own achievements.
Because when someone notices what you do and compliments you, that’s great. But what about when we WANT people to notice what we’ve done?
How good are you about sharing your wins and achievements with the world?
I’m still not great at this – this whole post is turning into a very roundabout way to share one of my achievements with you. Bear with… I’m working up to it!
Even on social media, I’ll use terminology like “humble brag” or “errrr hi… errr here’s a thing I did…”. It seems to be really tough to say ‘Hey folks, check this out! I’m so proud of this!’
But let’s all try and give that a go from now on. Doing it doesn’t mean you have to be arrogant or smug about it. But you can be PROUD and confident in your achievements. Because, hey, they’re achievements and that’s a pretty darn special thing to accomplish!
Ok, ok, I’m going to do it.
Only 8 months after the fact. But here’s an article I wrote and got published earlier this year over on JpegMini. It was the very start of my copywriting journey so I was actually really chuffed to have this published with them. And yet, I’ve barely shown it to anyone!
So, here it is!
Embracing Mistakes When A Moment Matters
Now it’s your turn! What have you achieved or accomplished recently that you’d like to share with the world? Drop a comment below and let’s all have a look 🙂