An acquaintance of mine once said, “Akyn is so handsome.” “I wonder where he got his looks from?” I wasn’t really sure on how should I respond to her question. Should I be happy someone had appreciated the physical looks of my son, or should I get offended for questioning the quality of my genes? Instead of getting defensive for hurting my ego, I politely said, “Thank you,” and smiled. I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps her intention was just to express admiration. The problem could be because of her choice of words. Her compliment is an ambiguous statement and it solely depends on me on how I should interpret the message. If I had taken it negatively, I doubt if we would still be on speaking terms until now.
There are moments in our lives when we are caught in a situation off guard with the questions thrown at us. The first human reaction is to get defensive and I would like to be very honest with you I am guilty of this. I often rebuke the person dishing out the criticism against me. But as I analyzed the situation, was responding negatively helped me boost my confidence? No, it didn’t. It only added negative emotional baggage to me.
If I am at a loss of words to respond, I simply SMILE. As they say, it will make them wonder what I am up to. It will also make them stop from provoking challenging questions which are sometimes borderline to rudeness.
Life is too short to dwell on negativity. I need to focus more on the positive views in my life just like this photo oozing with cuteness.
Happy love month everyone ☺
