I have recently found that receiving compliments has a different effect on me than it used to when I was younger.
When I was younger, compliments on, for example, achievements in school, or on drawings that I made, or things in general, would make me feel very happy and good. It's related to how I suffer a bit of fear of failure, and am also a perfectionist as a result of that fear. I'm prone to insecurities, and compliments really used to lift me up.
These days, however, following a couple of years in which I saw myself fail to achieve certain goals that I had set for myself, I found that whenever someone is complimenting me on doing my work well, or making good progress in my courses, or on my knowledge on certain subjects, I find that it has the effect on me of shutting me down, like a clam closing its shell. I tend to get shy and brush the compliment off like I used to when I was younger, but instead of seeing the compliment as an impetus to continue on that road, I instead dwell on my insecurities and view the complimented achievement as an exception to the rule, that rule being that I mostly fail at things, and only succeed by extraordinary exception (making my successes almost like flukes).
Even online, I have been complimented on writing reports about activities I had done (mostly reviewing conventions, festivals and the like) and when some of the posters requested in advance that I write a report of a cultural festival, I just closed down completely and couldn't go through with it (because of the expectations).
On a related note, a second point on receiving compliments I'd like to discuss, is how you RESPOND to the person giving the compliment. I find that I usually brush it off (even if it made me feel great), or sometimes even fail to notice that it's actually a compliment in the moment itself, only realising that it was one in hindsight. I tend not to give a counter-compliment.
So, how is it with you guys?
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clarity of thought before rashness of action