When people make a compliment, they seek to make a gift and want to be kind.

A compliment can also be a way to express gratitude.

Whatever is worth a compliment for that person may very well have been something they appreciated, learned from, or enjoy in some other manner.

Being on the receiving end of a compliment can lead to feeling awkward or uncomfortable.

Receiving a compliment means being confronted with someone else’s assessment of ourselves. And whenever both assessments differ, there is tension making it awkward for one or the other.

This awkwardness is an opportunity to grow.

It doesn’t necessarily mean to agree.

It is an invitation to see value through someone else’s eyes. To see what others appreciate, to acknowledge that, and to learn from that.

It can also be an opportunity to inquire about it.

Should the compliment be misdirected, it is an opportunity to redirect it to the person who rightfully deserves the compliment.

And it also is an opportunity to be kind and grateful.

Taking the other direction by refusing the compliment is rude.