I know how everyone's going to begin their posts for this BEDM topic.
"I'm no good at accepting compliments..." will go the starting line.
Of course it will. No-one's going to be that person who stands up and says "I am the fricking shit at accepting compliments. I'm so good at accepting compliments that people compliment me on my acceptance of compliments. Oh, and I also shoot rainbows out of my fingertips."
I mean we all love compliments, nobody is going to sit there and say "Oh no please don't tell me I'm good at something, that is literally the worst thing you could do." What we are not good at is the graceful acceptance of compliments.
Is it a British thing? People liken it not being able to toot their own trumpet and I can see the similarities but they're not really the same - it's a big step to go from just saying "Thank you" when someone says something nice to us, to going out wearing a sandwich board proclaiming our awesomeness.
It shouldn't really be difficult though should it? You just. say. Thank you. That's all. It's a simple process - Compliment in, warm fuzzy feeling generated, thank you out the other side.
But it's just impossible.
Take this conversation I had with someone at work some time ago;
Colleague: Oh your beehive looks amazing, I wish I could do that.
Me: Oh my hair is just massively greasy is all. This beehive is stuck up here with determination and dirt. You can't do a good beehive unless your hair is proper filthy. So whenever you see me with a beehive in you'll know my hair needs a good wash.
Colleague: *nervously laughs and backs away*
And now I daren't put my hair in a beehive because they'll all know I'm a grease monkey.
I am truly bad at this. My standard response to anyone telling me I look nice or anything, is "no, I don't."
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ReplyDeleteHaha! I accept compliments OK but tend to follow it up with something way too enthusiastic, eg. "I like your skirt"; "Thank you! I MADE IT MYSELF! Out of a CURTAIN I bought at a CAR BOOT SALE!!", which I obviously think is amazing but most people probably wouldn't :\
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I totally do this (and the pound from Primark thing too, Alex!).
DeleteI do the Lucy thing too!! Or go "OH MY GOD IT WAS A POUND FROM PRIMARK. AN ACTUAL POUND." I can't just say thank you and move on.
ReplyDeleteHaha I feel your pain, I am an overtalker too! ;) I just need to learnm how to say thank you I think!
ReplyDeleteMaria xxx
Ha! As if! I did exactly the same recently. On days when I can't be arsed to wash my hair, but it's not quite rotten, I consider Batisting and/or curling it. One day, a guy at work said my hair looked nice curled, I replied with 'Oh, I just couldn't be bothered to wash my hair today.' The next time I curled it came the joke 'Oh, not washed our hair today have we?'. I laughed but don't think I've curled it since. I really should've worried more about the fact that not washing my hair *may* have implied I hadn't had a bloody shower either. Imbecile. In fact, I should've just said thank you.
ReplyDeletegingerellaj.blogspot.co.uk
Hmm. I feel slightly "test case" now after our facebook photo exchange yesterday. Of COURSE I know I look pretty in that photo, that's the only reason it made it onto facebook. I can show you actual evidence that that photo is the one in one hundred when I actually look like that. I have the other ones. Would you like to see them? Then you will accept that it was clever camera angle/good light and the fact that I chopped the top bit of my head out of shot. Trust me. I took a few in that series that included the rest of my head and it really detracted from the overall prettiness.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing exactly what I've just talked about in the post.
DeleteJUST SAY THANK YOU WOMAN.
Naha, dirty dirty hair. Compliments are a funny thing, default settings seem to be 'what, me, really?'. My other thought on compliments- none of us are great at giving them. We're all super quick to criticise people, brands, service, etc but not that swift to promote and compliments.
ReplyDeleteI am the fricking shit at accepting compliments, no rainbows are shot from my finger tips though.
ReplyDeleteI learned to smile, say 'thank you, that's really kind of you to say so' and then I change the subject, blushing inwardly, hoping that I got away with it. It was borne out of frustration at a girl at college who received comments on an hourly basis (or so it felt) replying with 'no I don't, you're mad, I don't look good at all do I? How can you say that!?' I gave myself a headache with all the eye rolling it induced in me.