How to Improve Your Life by Saying Thank You

Did you know that how you react to compliments can either help or hurt your self-improvement efforts? How do you react when someone compliments you? 

Most people have a hard time accepting praise or compliments by saying two simple words…thank you. When you get comfortable with saying a genuine thank you for praise or compliments, you can boost your manifesting powers and literally change your life. 

Let me tell you how.

Let’s start with what spurred me to make this post.

But first, if you’d prefer to watch the video on this topic, head over to my YouTube channel!

I know someone, let’s call her Susan, who can NEVER accept a compliment. You probably know a Susan too. Or maybe you are a Susan?

Every single time I tell Susan something nice, she comes back with negativity. For example, one day she was wearing this really pretty top and I told her it was beautiful. Her response – “Yeah, it’s too short and I don’t really like it.”

And this isn’t the first or only time she’s responded in that way. Susan is the reason I started paying close attention to how people (myself included) respond to compliments and praise. 

Here are the most common responses I’ve noticed:

-The first way is to be dismissive or minimize the praise by saying something bad about whatever it is being complimented, like Susan did in my previous example. If you compliment an outfit or top, most will say, “oh it’s really old” or “it was super cheap”, finding a way to downplay the compliment.

-The second way some people respond, and this one surprised me a little, is with anger. Someone I know (I’m trying to keep things anonymous here) told another person that she liked her glasses, and the compliment receiver responded with, “Oh really because I was made fun of for wearing glasses every day when I was a kid.’ She was truly offended by what was a genuine compliment. She really did look good in glasses!

-Another reaction is to immediately give the compliment right back, even if it’s not true. This is a way to deflect the compliment and put it back on the giver. Imagine that your new coworker runs her first workshop with you and she nails it! She did a great job, but when you tell her, she comes back with, “no, YOU did a great job”. She’s handing the compliment right back, whether she means it or not, just to deflect away from herself.

-The fourth reaction is to just flat-out refuse or disagree with the compliment. Maybe you’re watching a basketball game. After the game, you see a player walking out and you tell him, “Good game, you’re a great player” and he responds with, “No I’m not, we lost and I suck”. Harsh response!

Many people have trouble accepting compliments for a few reasons:

1. It’s been ingrained in us to be humble and modest. We’re afraid of sounding egotistical or even, heaven forbid, proud of ourselves.
2. We may lack confidence or have low self-esteem and maybe really don’t believe the compliment. 
3. We may not trust that the person is being sincere – however, I’ll say, if they’re not being sincere, that’s on them! You can’t worry about their intentions. 

Here’s the thing – if you can’t accept something as simple as a compliment, what do you think that says to your subconscious mind or the universe?

You’re essentially saying, “I don’t deserve good stuff because I’m not worthy.” You’re showing the universe that you’re not open to receive good things. 

Someone is basically handing you a gift of high vibes and you’re shutting them down! 

You’re pushing the good vibes away and instead, choosing to stay in a low or lower vibrational state. 

Think about accepting praise and compliments like tuning an instrument.

When you have a finely tuned instrument, it’s in harmony and can play beautiful music. Well, when you accept a compliment, you’re tuning your internal vibration or energy.

The act of accepting praise can help reprogram your mindset.

By learning to embrace compliments or praise, you shift, not only your external dialogue, what you’re speaking with your response, but also your internal dialogue. You’re changing it from self-criticism or disbelief to self-acceptance and confidence.

This tuning process enhances your self-worth, which is key to success, and will boost your manifesting power. 

By accepting compliments, you align yourself with a positive, confident energy that attracts more of what you want into your life. You’re letting the universe know you are open to receive more of the good stuff. 

So the next time someone gives you a compliment, stop and think about your response before you do your usual dismissing or deflecting. It’s okay to accept praise! You are worthy!

Simply say those two words, “thank you”.

If you feel the need to say more, let them know what their compliment means to you by saying something like, “Thank you – that really brightens my day!” or “Thank you – I worked really hard on that project, and I’m so happy you noticed!” or “Thank you – I love my new haircut too! It feels great!”. 

Responding positively to compliments will raise your vibration and lets the universe know you’re open to receiving more of the good stuff. Try it out – and don’t forget to give compliments too! Giving sincere compliments also raises your vibration and spreading kindness is always a good thing!

Speaking of spreading kindness….check out this list of random acts of kindness ideas!