Say What?

Having children can be great for the self esteem. Especially when you have one like Trinity. She's a very complimentary little girl and quite regularly will tell me how pretty I look or how wonderfully I do something. I do think she has the gift of encouragement. Though I think it's great to hear her little voice telling me fantastic things I have realized that often I write those words off. With her I think things like "How sweet that she doesn't know any better yet." I think this is a problem that a lot of us have. I know I don't except praise well. This is strange since the very things I would most like to hear I turn around and dismiss the next second.

Many people I know do this. Why is it we have so much trouble accepting a compliment but we can never let go of a negative word. I couldn't tell you the last compliment I had that I still remember today but off the top of my head I can still recall in near perfect detail most of the cruel and hurtful things that have ever been said to me.

I don't have an answer for this. I don't know how to turn this situation around. The hurts of the past are very hard to forget and I doubt I ever will. Maybe all that I can do is try to remember that the people that have lashed out at me were hurting themselves. That bringing someone else down was their way of attempting to make themselves look better in comparison.

As far as compliments are concerned we should also do our best not to be dismissive. Next time someone says something encouraging I will attempt to accept it. After all they didn't HAVE to say something nice. They wanted to! So why shouldn't that be true? What reason do they have to lie?

So if you also struggle with this like I do (I'm guessing there are a few) the next time someone says something nice let's just say thank you. Nothing more.

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