How to Accept Compliments Graciously

Do you remember the last time someone gave you a compliment about your looks or your work? Did you accept that compliment with grace and appreciation, or did you, like most people, thank the person for giving it to you, and then immediately try to justify it? 

If this sounds like you, then today is the day to change that pattern of thinking. Learning to accept compliments, especially sincere ones given by family and friends is an important step towards inner peace and happiness. We are so quick to criticize ourselves and so slow to accept compliments from others, but as we learn to take this important step in our life we find that it enriches our relationships and changes our perspective on ourselves and on the way we approach life.

Learning to accept compliments is an important self-growth and development step. Perhaps you feel, like most people, that to accept compliments is to start on the pathway to self-pride and no one likes an egotistical person. There is a big difference between having pride in one’s achievements and being proud and this is something that we all need to learn to counter the negativity of our self-talk. 

Every day we tell ourselves we are not good enough, or we don’t deserve the help that offered to us, or that we are not as beautiful as our spouse assures us we are. Challenging that talk requires accepting the opposite perspective and allowing people to tell us what they think of us, rather than what we think of ourselves. 

When we reject the compliments and the comments of others genuinely praising our efforts, we are in effect, rejecting the person who has given them. Eventually people will stop giving the compliments or offering the help if they feel we are rejecting it. This can affect our marriages, our work relationships and even our chance of career and personal development. 

Try saying a simple and genuine thank you the next time someone offers you a compliment or praises you for a job well done. Allow your self-talk to be challenged by their words and to create a hunger in you to see yourself as others see you. Write in a journal your attitudes to what is said to you and your response to it. You may feel uncomfortable at first, as you practice saying thank you without comment, it will transform you.