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Aimless
Assemblage of
Rambling
Musings of an over-caffeinated, slightly ajar yet well-meaning writer.
Aimless
Assemblage of
Rambling
Musings of an over-caffeinated, slightly ajar yet well-meaning writer.
Was reading Amber Naslund's blog - Brass Tack Thinking (highly recommended read BTW) and something she wrote about in this post really struck a chord with me...
Learn to Take A Compliment
When someone says something genuinely nice about you, a simple “Thank you so much” is more than fine. Occasionally it’s okay to poke a little fun at yourself, but if that’s your habitual way of responding to compliments, you might be inadvertently insulting the other person. When we say something nice about someone, we’re usually trying to demonstrate that we care, and that we noticed something that the other person should be proud of. A flip, sarcastic, or self-deprecating retort can really diminish the other person’s efforts, and make them second guess whether you’ve taken their thoughts to heart.
I can tell you this has long been a, I hesitate to call it a problem but a concern of mine... taking a compliment.
For those who don't know me, I am arguably the most sarcastic and self-deprecating person you may ever meet. I am ALWAYS one to make fun of myself.
But what Amber's telling us is it's not always a good thing. See, if I meet someone for the first time or have gotten to know someone, I will make light of myself. I don't do it with any subliminal reasons or anything, I do it for the sheer reason of I don't take anything too seriously, least of all me.
And if someone pays me a compliment, I tend to do the same thing...
"Oh, thanks but it was no big deal, really. Geez, if a dolt like me can do it, anyone can."
"...you might be inadvertently insulting the other person."
That's precisely what I've been doing. I surely do not mean it that way.
My wife, who's due to be canonized any day now for putting up with me all these years, tells me all the time that not everyone can do what I do.
Like most husbands I tend to blow her off and like most wives, she's right.
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The other thing I want to touch in this post is something my wife passed along to me...
It was a link to an article entitled 8 Myths in Life You Should Break for Success.
The full article, which can be found here, begins with one of my all-time favorite quotes:
“If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere”
- Marilyn Monroe
Some of these really resonated with me...
You need a master’s degree or an MBA to become successful in businessThe author astutely points to folks like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as examples of those who succeeded without a formal college education let alone an Masters or MBA.
You need a degree from your own language or Journalism to start writing articles
Not only do I not have a college degree, I have never studied writing. Ever. I didn't start writing in earnest until I was in my early 30s.
Writing a book takes a long time
I have to tell you I have always held this belief and perhaps it was my way of rationalizing my way out of actually doing it (writing a book) but as the author points out, it truly doesn't take all that much time.
Your doctor knows everything
This, I believe, is a generational belief. I see it all the time in folks over say the age of 65 who staunchly follow every thing their doctor tells them without once questioning it.
"It's your life!" I tell them... you have every right to question every thing. I mean where's the fun in just going along with the plan?
'Til next time...
