I want to elaborate on my compliment comment...
I am the queen of turning a compliment into something
else completely. Try me. If you are around me enough, then you know from experience
that I can turn just about any compliment into a complaint about my weight.
I heard one time that Southern women, especially, had a
hard time accepting a compliment. We take an "I like your dress" or
"that dress looks nice on you" and immediately fire back a half frown
and something like "well it makes me look washed out" or "my arms
look so fat in it". We do it so easily and so naturally that half the time no
one even notices. It's usually set up nicely with a "thanks, but...(fill
in complaint here)."
Why can't we just say "thanks"?
Even when we think we are just saying "thanks",
we are still saying something like "Thanks. Ugh, I paid way too much for
it." Or "Thanks, but I like your dress better." That is *still* slashing the value of said compliment.
Dang it.
Own it. Take the compliment and let it be. We need to
stop cutting ourselves down; stop analyzing and essentially undoing every
compliment that we receive. We are all awesome.
Now, seriously, let's own it.