The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[magicdomino]

My boss and I joke that the warranty expires at 40.

My friend told me that when I turned 40, and I laughed.  Danged if she wasn't right.  Nothing major, just the eyes needing reading glasses, injuries taking longer to heal.  Little, annoying stuff.

I have considered dying my hair blonde when it goes completely white, just to see if blondes really do have more fun.  Royal blue is a possibility, too. 

[Luci45]

Somebody! Quick! Tell me how to start a new thread about aging, and what place to put it!

[Coruscation]

I've always figured that the hill was the same as the hump. Wednesday is hump day because its the middle of the week. It's all downhill from there. So 'over the hill' is equivalent of Thurs and Fri. As for how long the top bit is, I guess it's over once you pass the 'peak' of your health and life. So, forty sounds reasonable if you are going for the biblical 'four score and ten'. You can push it back later if you have good health and good genes but alternatively, anything after high school was probably over the hill for Al Bundy.

[RingTailedLemur]

How can I get better at accepting compliments?  I always say thank you, but I'm always afraid my tone of voice is wrong, either it sounds like I'm mocking or full of myself.  I'm terrible at accepting compliments and I think that's making me rude.  I don't want to be rude, I just have no idea how to take a compliment the right way 

Do you have trouble accepting compliments because you don't believe them, or don't feel you deserve them?  That was/is my problem.

Try smiling first as you say "thank you", and really feel it.  A deep breath and a genuine smile help my voice to sound warm and sincere

[Redsoil]

How can I get better at accepting compliments?  I always say thank you, but I'm always afraid my tone of voice is wrong, either it sounds like I'm mocking or full of myself.  I'm terrible at accepting compliments and I think that's making me rude.  I don't want to be rude, I just have no idea how to take a compliment the right way 

Would it help if, rather than simply saying "thank you" (and possibly feeling weird about it), you were to say something like:

"What a lovely thing to say!  Thank you!"  "How nice of you to mention it.  Thank you!"  (Add in "you've made my day." if you wish.) May be a bit over the top for basic things, but I'm sure you get the concept.  Makes the other person feel good too!

[Iris]

How can I get better at accepting compliments?  I always say thank you, but I'm always afraid my tone of voice is wrong, either it sounds like I'm mocking or full of myself.  I'm terrible at accepting compliments and I think that's making me rude.  I don't want to be rude, I just have no idea how to take a compliment the right way 

Perhaps it would help if rather than focus on the compliment you focus on the kind gesture that someone took time out of their day to a) notice something nice about you and b) bother to mention it. I tend to think of it as thanking them for making an effort to help me have a better day, like if someone holds a door for you or something similar.

[Mental Magpie]

I think my issue is that I don't always think I deserve it.  For example, a coworker told me I did really well at the special teams academy (he was there with me); it was unexpected and I didn't think I did anything extraordinary.  I didn't know what to say so I very awkwardly said "thank you" and he called me out on being terrible at accepting compliments (it was in good fun, he and I have a rapport of sorts, he was not being mean by calling me out).  I didn't understand why he was complimenting me so I didn't respond correctly

You've given me good advice.  Thank you.  I will try to implement it; maybe if I look at the compliments differently I'll be able to accept them better.  It's hard for me because I don't have the best self esteem and I don't often get compliments other than how I'm smart.

[guihong]

I think my issue is that I don't always think I deserve it.  For example, a coworker told me I did really well at the special teams academy (he was there with me); it was unexpected and I didn't think I did anything extraordinary.  I didn't know what to say so I very awkwardly said "thank you" and he called me out on being terrible at accepting compliments (it was in good fun, he and I have a rapport of sorts, he was not being mean by calling me out).  I didn't understand why he was complimenting me so I didn't respond correctly

You've given me good advice.  Thank you.  I will try to implement it; maybe if I look at the compliments differently I'll be able to accept them better.  It's hard for me because I don't have the best self esteem and I don't often get compliments other than how I'm smart.

Think of a compliment as a gift or a present, and then think about how we here on Ehell talk about graciously accepting said gifts.  Don't discount it with "Oh, it wasn't much", say "That's lovely to hear; thank you!"  Because you do deserve it .

[Outdoor Girl]

When someone pays me a compliment, I invariably blush.  I do thank the person but I'm always a little uncomfortable.

I made hats for one of the guys in my union - he's a game warden and a group of them take underprivileged kids away on a fishing trip every year.  So the last meeting, where I'm secretary, he thanked the group for the monetary donation the local gave to the event and had special thanks for me.  It was really hard for me to include that in the minutes but felt that it should be there.  So it went in as absolutely low key as I could make it.

[Carotte]

About the taking a compliment, I never know how to answer or what to do when m'y SO tells me I'm pretty.
Saying Thank you would seem uterly weird, so I akwardly smile...
What do you answer to that ?
I like it when he says it, I'm juste really not used to anyone saying it beside my parents.

[Iris]

About the taking a compliment, I never know how to answer or what to do when m'y SO tells me I'm pretty.
Saying Thank you would seem uterly weird, so I akwardly smile...
What do you answer to that ?
I like it when he says it, I'm juste really not used to anyone saying it beside my parents.

"Yes. yes, I am. Way out of YOUR league  " Why is it weird to say thank you? You'd say thank you if he bought you flowers to brighten your day, surely. This is just him brightening your day in another way. The best way you can show appreciation is to enjoy that gift where he can see it. Think "He thinks I'm pretty, that makes me feel nice" and allow that to show on your face.

I used to be bad at receiving compliments and feel awkward and self conscious and undeserving and all that stuff. As I grew older I realised that there is NO shortage of people in the world who will put you down. Why believe those people, who were often random strangers or had an obvious agenda, over people who knew me and loved me who were saying the nice stuff?

[Liliane]

I'm pretty bad with taking compliments too, but for some reason I seem to be bad at it in a really good way. I invariably end up giggling a little, smiling very big and thanking the person who's given me the compliment quite profusely. Apparently this is what people want and they're always completely convinced I have a lot more confidence with compliments than I do!

[Mental Magpie]

About the taking a compliment, I never know how to answer or what to do when m'y SO tells me I'm pretty.
Saying Thank you would seem uterly weird, so I akwardly smile...
What do you answer to that ?
I like it when he says it, I'm juste really not used to anyone saying it beside my parents.

I'm not even used to my parents saying it!  I blush so hard when my boyfriend does it and sometimes manage to squeak out a thank you...but it's better than what he does when I tell him he's handsome.  He laughs!  It's out of embarrassment and I think it's adorable, but he laughs, smiles, and shakes his head.  I thought I was bad at taking compliments.

[Piratelvr1121]

I still blush when I get compliments too, and some I'm better at taking than others.  My bff used to get annoyed when people would compliment me on my photos and I'd say "Oh well it's a really good camera" as she'd try to convince me it's not the camera, but the person using it.  Perhaps, but let's be honest, even in the hands of a professional photographer, a point and shoot is not going to perform the same way as an SLR. 

DH isn't terribly good at compliments either as I'll call him cute or handsome and the answer's always "Nah...!"

[Slartibartfast]

About the taking a compliment, I never know how to answer or what to do when m'y SO tells me I'm pretty.
Saying Thank you would seem uterly weird, so I akwardly smile...
What do you answer to that ?
I like it when he says it, I'm juste really not used to anyone saying it beside my parents.

"Oh, thanks!  You always know just what to say to make me feel special."  Or just "That's so sweet - thanks."