what's the compliment you've never quite believed?
someone said something good about you, maybe more than once, and you nodded and smiled. but inside, you filed it under things people say. it never quite landed.
every day there's one live question, the same for everyone. answer it anonymously, see what other people said. it's all gone in seven days.
answer today's question →write down the compliment, as close to the original words as you can remember. then write who said it. notice what happens in you when you read it back. does it feel warm or does something in you flinch. write about why you think you don't believe it. is there a competing story in your head, one that's louder, older. try writing out that competing story too. put them side by side on the page. then ask yourself, what would have to be true for the compliment to be accurate. write that down honestly, even if it feels uncomfortable to consider.
- write about the version of yourself that would believe this compliment, and how they're different from who you are now.
- think about who first taught you to distrust praise, and what that looked like.
- consider whether you've given someone else this same compliment and meant it completely.
this is for anyone who deflects kind words like they're something to survive. for the person who can compliment everyone but themselves.