Last week I attended the sold out Shinedown and Papa Roach concert with three friends. One was a brand new friend, one was one who we have been very close friends for about a decade, and the third was a girl who I have known since I was a freshman in high school. It was a whirlwind of a day working then driving 3 hours, then it taking almost 2 HOURS to drive 3.1 miles from the interstate to the venue. We made it though and the concert was phenomenal! The venue was great (once you got parked) and I can’t wait to go to another concert there next year. The next time though we will be leaving a whole lot earlier to get in on time.
As we were enjoying the concert, my friend from high school looks directly me and proceeds to tell me that I am an inspiration to her! She talked about how amazing she thought it was for me to grow from where my life started to where I am now. While I am paraphrasing it, she put in a number of good points of life that I persevered from.
It completely shocked me of how anyone could think little ole me could be an inspiration to anyone at first. I have always had a bad case of imposter syndrome and have fought tooth and nail to be where I am now. For those that may not know, I recently took a new position as the Chief Operations Officer for WebArc Technologies. My first job that I paid taxes on was an intern for the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce and then it was an uphill fight from there to a mired of jobs and careers until I landed in WordPress.
Why is it so hard to take praise?
We are taught to give credit when credit is due right? We compliment people on looks, work, values, holding the door for us, and so much more. When it comes to being thankful and grateful for the praise we receive though, so many minimize it. So often we say “oh it was nothing” or “I was just doing my job” or you give a “thank you but…” We need to stop minimizing the praise.
They say the psychology of it is that the ones who minimize praise are ones that are not used to receiving genuine praise and/or do not feel they deserve the praise. A therapist once told me the easiest way to grow in accepting praise is to simply say “thank you” and that is all when you get praise. The more you “accept” the praise, the easier it will be for you to finally believe and appreciate hearing the good things about you.
A few years ago had my friend said this to me, I would have told her “thanks but I still have a long way to go” and minimized my achievements. This time I choose to say “thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.” I was truly in awe and grateful for the praise. I was honored to be “seen” with my accomplishments from someone who’s opinion I do deeply value. Growing up, the school years were some of the hardest for me with bullying and just not that many friends so having the few people from school who I am friends with still/now is a great thing.
So, the next time someone gives you a compliment or praise, even if you feel deep down in your soul that you do not deserve it, simply say “thank you” and one day you will believe in yourself like everyone else does.
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