As a woman, one of the most confusing and annoying things is how to respond when someone gives me a compliment. If I simply say thank you, I feel like I’m by default agreeing with them, and therefore coming across as cocky and conceited. But the default reaction – arguing and insisting the person is wrong because reason XYZ – feels insulting and is frankly annoying and exhausting. Honestly sometimes I just want to be able to take a compliment without feeling like it’s a trick.
I hope against hope that I’m able to raise my girls to be confident enough to opt out of the thanks-but-you’re-wrong dance when they get a compliment. I hope that they’re confident enough to realize that people are going to see good things in them, and accept when those things are pointed out. I hope that they realize that selling themselves short and being insecure are not positive character traits – no matter how many pop songs and movies are built around the idea that insecure women are the most desirable.
iwantchristiansdesk 