Lessons from the School of ‘Lighten The Fuck Up’
Chin up my dear. The light shines from above, not below.
Take a compliment. No matter how hard it is to take, just fucking say thank you, move on and you can process it later. Ignore it and you will make it out as though you don’t deserve it, will never deserve it and you’re telling people to never compliment you again because it makes you uncomfortable and awkward. If it takes you a long time to recognise a compliment, err on the side of positivity and say thank you even if in doubt.
If you somehow manage to fuck it up and you start thinking the compliment is an insult wrapped in sarcasm, do everything you can to avoid deflecting. You are almost always wrong if you think there is some hidden message or ulterior motive behind the compliment. Becoming defensive or patronising will guarantee that you will never again receive a compliment. Every man and his short-sighted dog can pick up on your low self-esteem.
And this part is probably the hardest. Pay a compliment. For the people living in the real world, compliments are good things that are meant to make us feel better. So don’t assume that everyone hears compliments in the same messed up way that you do. It’s like that bad joke about farting alone. Smile, and the world smiles with you. Unless, of course, you enjoy the smell of your own ass.
[...] for the compliments, I still need to work on that. I don’t know any of the people who I follow well enough to [...]