For most of my life I thought the acceptable response to a compliment was to quickly shoot it down or deny it. But in recent years I’ve realized that kind of false humility is not really becoming at all. (And can actually make the complimenter feel bad for saying it in the first place!)
This is the thing: as awkward as it is to accept praise or adulation, it is not prideful to do so. I’ve watched women I admire accept compliments and the ones that do it best are the ones that accept them with a quiet confidence. They don’t feel a need to return the compliment with a (seemingly) inauthentic compliment. A simple “thank you” or “thank you for saying that” is perfectly appropriate.
And if that feels too serious, try something light-hearted like, “Oh my goodness, you are going to make me blush, but thank you for saying that!” or “Well, you just made my day – thank you!”
Tell me: how do you respond to compliments? And let me know if you have any other “what to do” or “what to say” topics to bring up! (Maybe we need to discuss the “humble brag”…).
(This post originally appeared as part of my “What to Do” series on Instagram!).
What do you think?