It’s so easy to put ourselves down and we tend to be our own worst critics in life. I used to find it really difficult to accept compliments and would say things like “Yeah, but I still have a fat belly”. Or, “Yeah but I could have done better”. “Yeah but I’m not where I want to be”, “I look horrible and have baggy eyes”, the list is endless.

It’s common for people to overlook the compliment and look for a response with something negative about themselves. Furthermore, we find it uncomfortable to accept compliments. It may be because we don’t believe them, we don’t want to seem full of ourselves or we’re holding on to past limiting beliefs about ourselves. However, challenge yourself for a week to accept every compliment that comes your way. Simply say “Thank you” and you will begin to see a shift in your happiness, confidence, and self-esteem levels.

Learning to accept compliments with grace is crucial for your confidence and self-love. You will learn how to appreciate yourself and your strengths. Moreover, you need to remember that other people can often see what we overlook about ourselves. Therefore, they aren’t just making a compliment out of thin air. They can see the value in you and you need to start seeing the beauty in yourself and your capabilities.

Don’t Let Past Experiences Affect Your Present

A lot of self-esteem issues stem from our childhood and what we’ve seen and been told about ourselves. You may have been told that you’d never pass a class, or, you weren’t good enough to make the team. Additionally, you could have been told that you weren’t as pretty or smart as the other girls. Or, you weren’t fun enough to be in with the cool kids, and you weren’t good enough for your ex and they replaced you, etc.

Past experiences can affect our confidence levels and they are deeply rooted in our subconscious. Therefore, they make accepting compliments a struggle because we believe what we’ve been told about ourselves or what we’ve experienced in the past.

However, you need to learn to let go of these limiting beliefs from your past because all they do is wear you down and hold you back. If someone is complimenting you on something it is because they truly believe that about you. Therefore, you need to start seeing that quality in yourself. Don’t let negative past experiences from your peers, parents, exes, teachers, colleagues, or friends drag you down.

Stop Negative Self-Talk: Learn to Accept Compliments

To live a happy and fulfilling life you need to let go of negative self-talk. Talking negatively about yourself is draining and lowers your mood. Therefore, if someone offers you a compliment and you respond negatively it not only makes you feel bad but the person who complimented you will feel deflated too. So, start being kind to yourself and learn to embrace your body and personality.

Learn to big yourself and be your biggest fan. Accept the things you cannot change about yourself and highlight your strengths and all the things you love about yourself.

Practicing daily affirmations can really help improve your self-love and confidence levels. Therefore, check out my affirmations section for daily affirmations you can use to improve every area of your life.

Learn to Accept Compliments and Embrace Them

By simply saying “Thank you”, “That’s kind of you”, “Thank you for saying that” or “Thank you for noticing” you will begin to build your confidence and self-esteem levels.

Furthermore, it’s refreshing when someone accepts a compliment with grace and doesn’t point out their flaws. It’s empowering to learn to accept and embrace the compliments that people give you and over time you will start to see yourself through their lens.

When you love yourself and speak kindly to yourself and others you will live a positive and happy life. Accept compliments and give a genuine compliment back if you like. You will become a more approachable, upbeat, confident, and happy person.

“Accept both compliments and criticism. It takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow.”– Unknown.

Summary

Being able to accept compliments won’t come overnight. We are conditioned to put ourselves down and see the flaws in ourselves. Therefore, we can find it uncomfortable to say “Thank you” when someone comments positively about us. However, being mindful of how you respond to compliments and how you talk about yourself is vital for your confidence and self-esteem.

Make a conscious effort the next time someone pays you a compliment to accept it and not put yourself down. The more you practice the easier it will become. Before you know it you will stop negative self-talk for good.

Start looking for the good in yourself and your capabilities, instead of thinking about what you don’t have or haven’t done. You will become happier, and more confident and will learn to start loving yourself.

Positivity is infectious, so if you respond to a compliment positively then people are more likely to keep complimenting you and your confidence will grow further.

But the most important thing to remember is to always speak to yourself and about yourself kindly. Stop putting yourself down and start believing and loving yourself today!  

“Accepting compliments is a skill. Internalizing them could be a secret superpower.”– Unknown

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