I have a confession; I can’t take a compliment. I can give them just fine, but if you want to see cinder looking awkward and at a loss for words all you have to do is compliment me. I’ll try to deflect it. I have several strategies for this but self depreciation is one of the old standbys. Tell me I’m kind, I’ll tell you that you only say that because you haven’t had to deal with me when I’m tired and grouchy. Tell me that the food I cooked is delicious; I’ll tell you it’s not that good and I’m sure I can do better.
But I’ve been around CC long enough to know that I'm not the only one who does this. I won’t name any names, but it seems like there’s a prevailing pattern (maybe even stronger in Christianity in the name of humility) of easily believing the negative things people say about us, but refusing to accept or believe the good things people say about us. It’s like most of us get lopsided in our view of ourselves and everything is skewed to the negative.
So if we admit that our perceptions of ourselves are wrong and most likely worse than reality, what can we do to change this situation and our perceptions?
But I’ve been around CC long enough to know that I'm not the only one who does this. I won’t name any names, but it seems like there’s a prevailing pattern (maybe even stronger in Christianity in the name of humility) of easily believing the negative things people say about us, but refusing to accept or believe the good things people say about us. It’s like most of us get lopsided in our view of ourselves and everything is skewed to the negative.
So if we admit that our perceptions of ourselves are wrong and most likely worse than reality, what can we do to change this situation and our perceptions?