Ever since I started my freshman year of college this August, I have tried to develop new and healthier habits. While some of the habits were as menial as getting at least six hours of sleep, some of my newly acquired habits required a bit more skill. One of the habits I have been trying to develop is saying “thank you” to compliments. I went through high school with high demands of myself which caused me to have low self-esteem. This low self-esteem made it even more difficult to deal with anxiety. I decided that I wanted to change this– after all, college is a way to have a fresh start in life.

One of the ways to fix a problem is to first pinpoint factors that contribute to this problem. I began to try and identify what might be blocking me from having confidence in myself. One bad habit I found myself doing was trying to discredit a compliment. If you’re like me, you might find yourself disagreeing with whoever is giving you a compliment. For example, say you were drawing something and someone says you did a good job. You might respond by saying something like, “It wasn’t THAT good.” This can be detrimental to your confidence. To improve this, simply respond by gratefully saying “thank you!” You will be amazed by how good it feels to take a compliment.

Being hard on yourself can cause immense struggles in feeling satisfied with personal work. However, saying “thank you” to a simple compliment might create some satisfaction in your life. I find it extremely beneficial to step back and look at not what you failed at, but what you accomplished. Even small accomplishments improve self-esteem. So, next time that somebody compliments you on something, accept that compliment! You deserve to feel self-satisfaction in life, even if sometimes you feel you do no deserve. Remember, you are your harshest critic.

How do you react to compliments? Do you think you have trouble accepting them?