So often I have a hard time giving myself credit for what I accomplish. Even worse is when someone compliments me. I tend to cower down. While I was in the convent it was made known to me that I tend to negate myself when I am complimented. If I was complimented I would respond, "yeah but...." usually followed with a negative comment about myself. At the time I thought I was being humble. It took one of the Sisters to look at me straight in the eye with all seriousness to say that "yeah buts are those fuzzy little creatures that hop along the forest and eat our flowers out front" and that I needed to accept positivity from others.
With that statement I started to watch what I'd say. But soon I realized that I'd do it to myself even when was just thinking. We need to stop doing that to ourselves. It becomes a self destruction method if we don't change the pattern of our thinking when we do this.
For Day 102 this is an area I will work on.
I must admit that this is a major troubling area for me to overcome. I tend to get a lot of comments about my music, and I always have trouble with how to accept it and how to respond to the compliment. Most of the time I am playing along with other guitars, without preparation or practice, and someone says that they liked the music. But in my mind, I am thinking that they are just trying to be nice, or just saying that because I do try to produce good music. Or it could be after a concert with my friend, Lynn McCully, and I get a compliment. I have even been asked for my autograph. I just don't feel that I'm worthy of that. I feel too humbled, but for them, I sign my name anyway. Lynn is the main attraction for our concerts. Without her, I doubt that very many people would come to listen. I just help her in some small ways, and feel that I shouldn't be paid or take the credit for the "performance".
ReplyDeleteSo I don't know if this is a common problem for other people, (to accept credit). It is a problem that I don't have answers for. I wish I could give some of old "Doctor Dave's" advice on this, but I have none. If there are answers, I would like to know them too.