Compliments

“What comes out of our mouths matters. What we say affects what we think and how we behave. One of the best things we can model for girls and young women is how to accept a compliment with tact and grace.”  Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois

I would modify this just slightly to reflect teaching both our young daughters and our young sons how to accept a compliment with tact and grace as the balance needs to start somewhere in how we raise the next generation of future parents.

It is more of an issue for women of all ages because we have been raised on a different emotional belief system than men. R. Engeln also shares this bit of wisdom, “[Woman are told], love yourself, but not too much. Be confident, but practice a style of humility this culture never requires of men. Believe in yourself, but never admit it out loud, lest you make another woman who doesn’t feel good about herself feel bad,” she says. “If you’re raised to think it’s arrogant to ever say something positive about yourself, it makes it hard to accept a compliment.”

You are looking beautiful today and extra happy.

Thank you.

You are most welcome.